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^^ V^ riW ^ff //U X rw ^ >~iH! iHl^--Iv '•S* > 






















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I 



WHEAT CULTURE 



IN 




TEIsTNESBEE 



By J. B. KiLLEBREW, 

Commissioner of Agriculture, Statistics and Mines. 



NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: 

PRINTED BY "THE AMERICAN" PRINTING COMPANY. 

1877. 



WHEAT CULTURE 



IX 



TENNESSEE 



A :. 



.W 



.,-J 



By J. B. KiLLEBREW, 

Commissioner of Agriculture, Statistics and Mines. 




NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE : 

PRINTED BY "tHE AMERICAN" PRINTING COMPANY. 

1877. 



To His Excellency, Gov. Jas. D. Porter: 

No branch of agriculture is receiving so much attention 
at present in the State of Tennessee as that of Wheat 
Culture. The production of this important cereal has been 
steadily increasing for several years. In 1870 the crop 
barely reached 6,000,000 bushels, while that of the present 
year will probably reach 11,000,000. 

There is a growing sentiment among the farmers that the 
wheat crop, when well managed, is one of the most profita- 
ble grown in the State, and the tendencv among them is to 
extend its cultivation, and at the same time to increase the 
yield per acre. New varieties of seed are being intro- 
duced, and many interesting experiments are being made 
by the most intelligent farmers. There is manifested on 
every hand a laudable ambition to improve the quality and 
increase the yield. To aid in this work of agricultural 
progress, the following pages have been prepared. It is 
believed that, with proper efforts among the farmers, Ten* 
nessee may yet become the peer of any State in the Unioa 
in the production of wheat. 



I am greatly indebted to Dr. ^Ym. M. Clarke, of Wil- 
liamson county, for valuable assistance in the preparation 
of this work ; also, to many farmers throughout the State 
for important suggestions. 

I have the honor to be 

Your obedient servant, 

J. B, IvILLEBREW. 



WHEAT CULTURE IN TENNESSEE. 



CHAPTER I. 

HISTORY — LIMITS OF CULTIV'^ATIOX; — EFFECTS OF A FAIL- 
URE OF THE CROP TPOX SOCIETY TEMPERATURE :0F 

RIPENING — ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS IN WHEAT CUL- 
TURE. 

Longfellow, in his poem of '' Hiawatha," introduces a 
beautiful and rofnantic myth in regard to the origin of 
maize. Many traditions among the Indians furnished him 
with a foundation for this story. These children of the 
forest recognized in maize the staff of life — the man's real 
friend. No time so joyous among them as the corn-dance 
at the maturity of tliis cereal; and in view of the fact that 
it was so essential to tlieir very existence, they had good 
cause to dance and make merry. It is true, many other 
plants were cultivated among them, but none so vital. It 
M'as their sine qua non^ their ultima thide, of agriculture' 
Honors and sacrifices were given to the Great Manitou for 
this noble gift to his forest children. Thus may we as well 
record the origin of wheat in some poetic Georgic as the 
great, inestimable gift of the gods to man, or accept the 
mythological account of Ceres having taught to Triptolemus 
of Eleusis its cultivation and use. It figures often in the 
Holy Scriptures, and is placed at the head of all vegetation. 



6-"" "WHEAT CULTUEE 

Man is often compared to wheat; and this parable is made 
because man being the first of creative beings in excellence^, 
so, when he is brought into comparison with individuals of 
the vegetable kingdom, none is found so well suited as 
wheat. Moses frequently refers to it in his first recorded 
account of mankind, and it is there selected as the best of 
offerings to Deity. In Leviticus ii. it is called meat-offer- 
ing, and in fact throughout the whole Bible it is spoken of 
as the best and purest of food. By its means Joseph was 
enabled to safely pass a nation through seven years of 
famine. 

Chinese history declares it was introduced into China by 
the Emperor Shin-hung, 2700 B.C. 

In existence, it is older than the creation of man. When 
Adani walked forth a created being, no doubt fields of wavy 
grain sown by Deity awaited his use. Its habitat is almost 
co-extensive with that of man. It differs so much in its 
requirements from all other plants, in time of cultiva- 
vation, that seasons, temperature, and altitude seem subor- 
dinate to its convenience. It is found on the bleak shores 
of Alaska, and on the equatorial terraces of the Andes; on 
the broad steppes of Eussia, and in the fragrant valleys of 
Cathay. Everywhere that man has moved, or emigrated, it 
stands as his best friend. When the Egyptian monarch, in 
ancient days, built his pyramids as mausoleums, he did not 
deem it inappropriate to lay by his side grains of this blessed 
cereal. It blesses alike the tables of the ric-h and the poor. 
It constitutes the feathery rolls of majesty, and the heavy 
brown l^read of the serf. As the poet designates woman as 
the " last best gift of God to man," so may we claim that 
wheat was the first greatest boon of an all-wise, beneficent 
Being to his creatures — one that could cheer, but not ine- 
briate ; sustain, but not destroy. 

There are, however, important limitations to its successfull 
growth, even in temperate climates, and these are determined 
by an examination of the peculiar distribution of heat and 



In TEJ?-NESSfifc. 7 

humidity, or amount of rain, throughout the year. Its 
sensitiveness to extremes of this sort renders its culture 
irregular in success. 

The limits of the successful cultivation of wheat is not 
determined so much by the cold of winter as by the tempera- 
ture of summer, 57.2°, being the minimum mean temperature 
of summer heat in which it will mature. The Southern limits 
vary betv/een 20° and 25° N. and S. latitude, though a suf- 
ficient elevation would, of course, reduce the heat as to 
bring it to any point even on the Equator. The adaptation 
of the cereal to so great a diversity of situations gives it a 
value beyond all other products of the field. It furnishes 
all the elements of nutrition in a most eminent degree. 

The absolute temperature limits of the growth of wheat 
belong to the summer months, or to those in which it ripens; 
and for these months they may be very precisely defined. 
The points of both extremes are not far apart, and, if abso- 
lute mean temperatures as recorded for the year could be 
employed, the district embraced would be narrow, indeed. 

Before referring to actual districts of its growth, it may 
be well to give the apparent temperature limits of the 
ripening season. We all remember the great outcry made 
in England in 1853, about the retardation of the ripening 
of Avheat in consequence of the low temperature. The tem- 
perature of July and August was 2° less than usual, or 
about 57°, and as a result a falling oif of from one-third to 
one-half of the crop took place. The disastrous effects of a 
wheat failure in Europe are well known. It has been said 
that a failure of the wheat crop in France is always followed 
by a revolution and by bread-riots in England. In Eng- 
land, a temperature of 57° is not sufficient to mature the 
grain, on account of the excessive humidity of that climate. 

This combination of moisture and low temperature does 
not exist in any district in the United States where wheat is 
grown. On the contrary, the United States give good 
results as to ripening in high temperatures. At the extreme 



b WHEAT CULTUEE 

South May is the ripening month, with a mean temperature 
of 60° to 70°. In Virginia May and June, with the ther- 
mometer at from 63° to 72°, and in Tennessee, 20th May 
to 10th June, and the heat at from 65° to 80°. In Illinois, 
June, at 60° to 70°, and in New York, July, at 64° to 69°. 
From these comparisons it will be seen that the temperature 
for the last growth of the wheat falls rather under 70°. As 
Ave go into warmer climates, the period of ripeiiing recedes 
until it occurs even in April, as in Egypt. 

Thus it may be observed that the mean diiference, or 
range, in the thermometer is only about 15°, so that, were 
we to take the thermometer as a guide, it would appear that 
wheat culture would only range between these means. But 
practical experiment has shown that, in fact, its limits are 
far beyond^ and this diiference is explained by the combina- 
tion of hciit and moisture. A dry climate will mature 
wheat at a much lower temperature than a moist one at the 
same degree of heat. Per co)dra, a moist climate requires 
a higher degree to bring it to maturity. In this manner, 
though the heat of midsummer may reach to a mean of 95°, 
yet elevations will reduce this mean to a point of successful 
cultivation. In England and Northern Europe the entire 
year is embraced in the growth of wheat, and so the tem- 
perature of every month must be taken into account. In 
South Euro])e there are two months in the year, and in the 
United States, or rather the southern part, there are three 
months not required in the cultivation of the wheat crop, 
while in the northern part of the Union August is not in- 
cluded in the time demanded for wheat culture. A large 
portion of wheat is grown only during the warm months, 
such as spring wheat. 

It will be necessary to notice the eifect of the winter 
months more particularly, as the winter varieties will grow 
up to the limits of the S2)riug varieties, and even the differ- 
ence is more in varieties than oth.erwise, as either kind can 
be changed by cultivation into the other. In a list of high 



IX TENNESSEE. ' 9 

tomjieratiire hereafter given, it is not to be understood that 
\vlieat will not grow or mature beyond this or the low teni- 
l>erature, but that it w'ill not, above or below these points, be 
a paying or remunerative crop. Some kinds are grown, as 
before stated, in every point settled by man. 

By a slight examination, however, it will be seen that 
temperature does not alone decide the success, as the dry 
plains of Western Texas, or the broad valleys of Southern 
California, produce wheat equal to the best Illinois lands. 
The u])lands of Georgia and South Carolina will also pro- 
duce better wheat than the coast lands of the same tempera- 
ture. This is owing to the difference in the humidity of the 
climate. 

Another element of success that must be noted is the 
amount o^ snow-fall in regions of country that have a temper- 
ature so low that all wheat vegetation would be destroyed. 
AVhen the snow is melted by the genial warmth of spring, 
the wheal plant that has been protected springs up and 
grows with a marvelous rapidity. Alternations of heat and 
cold are very prejudicial to the safety of wheat, as it greatly 
tends to Avinter killing. The growth of wheat in winter 
renders it more sensitive to the influence of succeeding cold, 
and tends to destroy it. So that the line just below the 
region of continual snow is the point most likely to suffer 
with winter killing. 

In the region where wheat is protected by snow, we select 
the leading points: Rochester, for New York ; Gettysburg, 
foi- Pennsylvania; Cleveland, for Ohio and Michigan; and 
Milwaukee, for Illinois and Wisconsin. These are favor- 
able States, and August is not necessary for the growth of 
ulieat at any of these points. The points where the greatest 
damage is done by alternations of heat and cold without the 
protecting inffuences of snow, are Cincinnati, New Har- 
mony, and St. Louis. These places receive a vast amount 
of rain from the influences of the rivers and valleys along 
which thev lie. This humidity is combined with a higher 



10 W'HEA,T CULTURE- 

temperature also, so that it retards very much the suocossful 
issue of a crop. A large amount of rain and a warm cli- 
mate are not favorable for its cultivation. 

But with all observations and all theories in respect to 
wheat culture, there are modifications unseen and unknown 
that render futile all calculation. Only practical experience 
can always determine its best habifat. Soil, climate, tem- 
perature, with all its changes and variations, from altitude, 
depression, etc., etc., will make all places of seeming dia- 
metrical oppositeness equally suitable for its culture. 

The following table of temperatures for the best wheat- 
growing districts of the world has been compil'od, fvo'.n 
which it will be seen that Tennessee has a temperature mid- 
way between the extreme limits of the leading wheat-g; ow- 
ina: countries of the world : 

I 



IN TENNESSEE. 



u 



Year. 


oc d X -3 


•# CO X -.; t- 
05 c' r-* r: X 


C-. ci -*<■ -■ c c ;o 
o -o w .- to -.o 1= 


t- c to 

O uO O 


t-i X to OJ r-J o X UO X 00 


O 05 lO 00 X = .- O CO 01 
'^^-Tl-'^^-^-^CO-t'iO 


1 
Winter.., 


-f -M CO O 

M S c5 cS 


0-1 CO t- lO ■.= 
CO CO -:* X 05 


UO -# t- r-l to i-J t-l 

^' r-^ ic oi (?J 01 3 

^ -:i< -* 'J" -* -* •:(< 


Tin r-^ Tti 
o: CO CO 


CO o c; oi tc CI = 00 X o 
to ct rt t :' ._; .0 to* to r-- x 

COCOCOO^OO — r^ wo 


Aiitiimn. 


00 r-; «o -i 


00_ 35 CI ^_ -o 


T* -o o: X ^_ t- ^ 


'■i ^ -li 

■-0 ir: o 


to 1-; I-. 00 oi 05 to O! r- X 
X o:' r- -« ci ot o: — c' CO 

-r u:-* tJ. ^ 00 ^ CO lO t- 


Summer. 


:c c cc CO 


tc b to i to 


LO -_ I-I to t-< X ^ 
t£ c^ X ti ^ - t^ 00 


CO O 01 


62 4 

61.0 
61.0 
GO 5 
04.5 
03 9 
6.5.0 
02.4 
05 3 
78.3 


Spring. 


n' X :r c? 


t-_ .: Ol C5 01 

^ CO 'f CO CO 


UO tH r-l O — X -♦' 


0^ t-o 

■;' '^' ■-=' 


T|( OQ^ 10 to -* - X M r-; "* 


Dece'ber. 


~i n oi o< 


iC 00_ = CO to_ 

oi S J^ ?i 


Ol C-_ -J* » !M = -1< 

'T -t1^ ^ -^ -^ ^ -CI 


iM 


t. * o r-i' r-.' ^ to' r-' t^ CO c* 


Nov'ber. 


o CO » L-; 

C^' X i." X 

^ C5 CO 05 


C 'O^CO t-;f-- 


e-1 CO t-_ t-; CO I-- -; 


-* ^ ^ 


XOtCXCO^r^tOX-ll 


i 

1 October. 


ir: ^ o lO 


00 -*■ uo' co' oo' 

T^ .^ Tjl ^ -^ 


t-_ 01 -)<_ O -*< C0_ -i< 

S to to uO o 2 to 


lO L.0 o 


OC C: C t- Ci <\ C 1-^^ r? GO 



Sept'ber. 



t- i^ r- t- t^ 1— I 



■o lO i-o o ■-•; Ti. U-: I 



August. 



' :0 -Oi :_ to 



-r— X t~-r-i> ototototo — tototox 



July. 



i- t^ -^ O -O to O -.D 



t^ r- t-- X b- c- £■- CO to o -^ w o — to ;;; I 



f>l C CO t:^^ ^ ■* r: ?? 'C -M 

r-' c ci t- 0-^ !^^ ^t r-i cm' O 

u: iO O O 'O ;0 to to C: t- 





c 


~ 


^ 


„ 


CO X tH 


>.o r- 


c: 


- 


~ 


Ol 


o 


^ 


00 


00 to CO 


■— 


.-, 


r-4 Ol 


,- 


^ 


CO 


uo 


„ 


01 


May. 


Ct 


2 


.c 


s 


C Ol -* 


-tl< ^ 


S 


t- 


[!^ 


t;; 


X 


= 


'- 


cc i~ to 
to to to 


t— 


g 


o 3 


s 


■s 


s 


5 


g 


'^ 



April. 



r^ O .* I^ 



-* CO .* CO 00 lo to t:; to o to to 



-*-*-f-i*-*Tj<Tt<0C-*tO 



March. 


30.2 
39.3 
30.4 
34.8 


30.4 
24.3 

28.7 
V5.7 
25.7 


lO to c: CO :•: oi to 


'1*1 uO .-* 


42.9 
43.2 
35.2 
31.4 

38.1 

27.4 
20.7 
31.7 
02.1 


February 


20.5 
30.8 
30.1 
29.4 


22.5 
12.8 
15.7 
17.0 
13.7 


0-. Ot Ol to - X r-. 

.^i ^ lO tX Wi -t c: 


t- 01 —_ 
■O — Tfi 
.-0 ^ CO 


:o-fxottocW'-'O0X 
r-^ rt' — ' to' ■■- -o i-^ x" to' t>l 

CO ."^0 CO C^ CO r-i i-l (NO 


Jauiiary. 


20.9 
2S.4 

27.2 


21.4 

0.8 

U.5 

17.4 

8.6 


40.4 
44.0 
42.5 
42.0 
41.7 
41.0 
47.(1 


= ^ 0-1 

oo"-* CO* 

CO CO 00 


33.4 
30.0 
27.4 
■-4.4 
27.7 

12.3 

24.0 
57.3 



Iz; . 









:a! 



i 5! § -S ^• 
• > -- s 



! 3 g = ffi 3 c 

; cj 02 s « S f^ 



sM3 



■sS SiS C3-3-S 

^3 S? jt sS =^ p -• 

J- a N M.g g ^ 

T, a a a ~ s 3 

c Pi. ts o 0) >: rs 

»-_ r.-T (~i ^ AO ^ c_i 



d .a c3 



HfiWnSHWW^ 



12 WHEAT CULTURE 

It is known that Tennessee has an isothermal line 
along the northern shores of the Mediterranean and south 
of the Bhick Sea; in fact, near the birth-place of this great- 
est of all the cereals of the world. 

Scientific men have made researches into the animal, veg- 
etable, and mineral kingdoms, by various means, principally 
the microscope, and by means of these observations and 
chemical analyses have been able to classify these different 
substances into various genera — species, orders or families, 
and classes. In order to do this intelligently, they embraced 
every known or fancied resemblance in one order; for in- 
stance, the cat family embraces many animals that are simi- 
lar in conformation, having stiff hairs on the upper lip, 
with toes divided, armed with claws, and sucli as crouch to 
spring on their prey. The lion, tiger, panther, leopard — 
these are as mucli a feline as the cat itself. So in the veg- 
etable kingdom we find the division into orders, genera, 
classes, and s{)ecies, founded upon differences in their char- 
acters. There are two grand divisions of the vegetable 
kingdom — those having flowers, Fhceaogamous, and those 
without flowers, the Crypfogainous. Upon the flowers 
a basis is made for dividing the flowering plants into genera 
and species. It will be readily seen that the similarity be- 
tween turnips, radishes, cabbages, mustard, and many more 
have united them under the common name of Crucifera, the 
petals having a fancied resemblance to a cross. The pea, 
bean, lupine, etc.^ not only have similar flowers, but the 
fruit is incased in a pod, or legume, and so this order is 
called leguminous, from a Latin word meaning to collect. 
Thus have all vegetables been classed by Linnaeus, the great 
naturalist. Vegetation is further divided into exogens and 
endogens, or those whose stem increase or grow from layers 
of wood deposited between the bark and the heart, and 
thofcc which do not. In the first clas.-j are ash, oak, hick- 
ory, etc.; in the latter corn, oats, rye, wheat, etc. 

The fruit makes the next division, those having solid 



IN TENNESSEE. IS^ 

seeds heing mor.ocofylcdon, tliose having seeds composed of 
two parts fastened together, such as peas, beans, etc., being 
dicotijeldon. 

This same method of classification extends through all 
the various kingdoms, animal, vegetable, and mineral. For 
instance, the lime family is called calcareous, because lime is 
the distinguishing or predominating element. This com- 
prises limestone, marble, alabaster, plaster of Paris, sea- 
shells, marl, etc. The Aluminte are topaz, ruby, emerald, 
alum, etc., because alumina predominates. And flint, or 
silex, gives the name of Silicife to sand, onyx, agate, quartz, 
jasper, and many other gems. Within a few years the 
theory of evolution, advanced many years ago, has received 
many adherents, and a great deal has been written to prove 
this doctrine. According to this theory there is a regular 
progression from the lowest forms of the mineral kingdom, 
through the long scries of vegetation, to the highest form 
of animal life. 



14 WHEAT CULTURE 



CHAPTER II. 

BOTANICAL DESCEII^ION — HYBRIDIZATION — INTERESTING 
EXPERIMENTS. 

The botanical name for wheat is Triticum Vidgare. Syn- 
onyms — Triticum Hyhernum, T. ^-Estivum — A-S-hweate, 
white, in distinction from rye and other dark colored grains. 

Triticum Sex. Sus. Triandria Digynia — Nat. Order, 
GraminaccK. Gen. Cn. Calyx, two valved, transverse, soli- 
tary, many-flowered, on a flexuose toothed receptacle. 
{Rees.) 

The common winter wheat has a fibrous root, and one or 
more erect, round, smooth-jointed stems, which rise from 
three to five feet higli and are furnished with linear, pointed, 
entire, flat, many-ribbcJ, rough, somewhat glaucous leaves, 
and jagged, bcai'ded, stipules. The flowers are in a solitary, 
terminal, dense, smooth spike, two or three inches long. 
The calyx is four-fiowercd, tumid, even, imbricated, abrupt, 
with a short compressed point. In the upper part of the 
spike it is more elongated ; and in this situation the corolla 
is more or less awned. The grain is imbricated in four 
rows. 

Triticiim, wheat belongs to the subtribe of the grasses, 
hordeinea, from barley, which is in structure closely related 
to wheat, and rye also belongs to the same division. Be- 
sides the grain producing sj)ecies, all of which are annuals, 
there are several with perennial roots, which by some 
botanists have been placed in a distinct species agropermSy 
the most important of which is the troublesome triticum 
rcpens ((!0uch grass), (wild onion), of which more hereafter. 
Like other cereals the origin of wheat is deeply involved in 
speculation. It is found growing wild in various mountain 



IN TENNESSEE. 15 

countries, in some places where from the accounts of trav- 
elers it could not have spread from cultivation. De Candolle 
believed it sprung from the Hiraalays of Asia, though 
the pioneer miners of California make notice of seeing it 
among the western crags of the Rocky mountains and 
Nevada Sierras. The latter dissemination, however, may 
have taken place from the numerous missions established by 
the Catholics in that country. 

About 1855 M. Fabre asserted that he had proved wheat 
was wc/ihps ovafa (a common grass of Southern Europe) de- 
veloped by cultivation. He asserted tliat by successive 
sowings he had produced forms of cegilops which passed for 
specimens of wheat, and by continuing this sowing 
he had produced wheat. Tliese experiments are not, how- 
ever, worthy of credit, for it is now knov/n these grasses 
have been either accidentally or for a purpose hybridized 
with wheat, and thus he only developed the fact of the dis- 
[)osition of this grain, as of all others, to return under 
favorable circumstances to its original state. But Nature's 
laws had been transgressed, and here the new, much valued 
species, expired. Nature will perpetuate a movgrd but 
never a mule. 

In the vegetable kingdom the results of such experiments 
are precisely analogous. The individual plants that par- 
ticipated in the crossing may be distinctly traced in the 
hybrid. Affiliated plants thus crossed produce fruits that 
will fecundate, whilst the violation thus produced will not 
bear fruit, or at least if fruit is borne, the seed will not germi- 
nate. Flowers possess a strong attraction for pollen from 
flowers of its own species, and hence if it is desired to pro- 
duce a hybrid, it is necessary to use a large quantity of 
pollen, but there will be no result unless they are of the 
same genera or species. The earliest record we have of 
hybridization is in the writings of Cameranus, in 1694. 
Linna3us w^'ote of hybrids in 1751, and Kolreuter, eight 
years later, succeeded in producing hybrids by artificial 



16 WHEAT CULTURE 

fecundation. Since this time, numberless experiments have 
been successfully made in that respect. In order to succeed 
in doing this, it is only necessary to bring the pollen which 
is contained in the anthers of one flower in contact with the 
stigma of the pistils of the flower to be impregnated. To 
succeed in effecting this, it will be necessary to select 
flowers of the same maturity, as those of diiferent ages will 
not do. The stamens are the male organs, and the pistils 
the female organs of reproduction and the pollen is an ex- 
ceedingly fine dust contained in the anthers of the stamen. 
The stamens of the plant to be hybridized must be removed 
early in the morning while wet with dew, and then about 
noon the stamen of the male plant must be shaken over the 
stigma of the pistils of the female plant. The stigma of 
the pistils resembles a sponge, and has a powerful ab- 
sorbent property, so that it will grasp the powder and con- 
vey it by a delicate tube to the fruit or seed. 

Hybridization is an exceedingly delicate operation and 
can only be successfully performed by a skillful hand. It 
often happens in gardens that through the agency of bees, 
bugs and insects, accidental hybrids are produced. It is so 
Avell known that gardeners keep apart all affiliating vegeta- 
bles, even when they are ignorant of the cause of their 
mixing. This is most especially the case with cabbage 
tribes, melons, cucumbers, etc. It is more difficult to pro- 
duce hybridization of cereals than any other vegetable, but 
not impracticable. The difficulty arises from the manipula- 
tion necessary in removing the unexpanded anthers, and 
then applying the pollen of another plant. 

Mr. Maund, of London, obtained a prize in 1851 for pro- 
ducin^r hvbrids from the annexed varieties of wheat : 



IN TENNESSEE. 



17 



Male. 

"Old Lammas 
Pearl White 
Clustered Eed 
Old Lammas 
Boston Ked 
White Cove 

(beard) 
Dark Cove 



Female. 

Donna Maria 
Oxford Eed 
Satin White 
King's White 
Donna Maria 
Northumberland 

(smoQth) 
Pearl 



Result 
Larger than either. 

K a ii 

Course, rough, short. . 
Very large long ear. 
Large ear, strong 'straw. 
Beardless, ear downey. 

Small deformed ear. 



His experience was that a strong male and a "weak female 
produced a better result than a strong female and a weak 
male. 

In 1848 Mr. Raynbird, of Loverstoke, obtained a pre- 
mium from the Highland Society, Scotland, for successful 
experiments of this kind. He began his experiments in 
1846 with the Hopetown, a long eared and long straw white 
wheat, and Piper's Thickset, a course v/heat with thick 
clustered ears, a stiff straw and very prolific, but liable to 
mildew. The hybrids thus obtained were intermediate be- 
tween the two parents, the ears shorter than the Hopetown, 
and longer than the Thickset. 

We would commend the example of the.se enterprising 
gentlemen to some of our farmers, and also the public spirit 
of the English societies in offering premiums to the suc- 
cessful experimenter. It is beyond question within the 
power of any one thus to originate new varieties having the 
good points of various kinds. Nor should one entering on 
these experiments be discouraged at a failure, for it often 
happens the result will not be satisfactory. But the simple 
fact that hybrids from accidental fecundation have furnished 
some of the most prolific and hardiest varieties, should be 
an encouragement to prosecute such inquiries. When it is 
considered that during one year in the United States alone 
'the vast sum of $200,000,000 is spent for flour, any one can 
readily see the immense advantage the introduction of a 
new variety that would increase the yield one or twobusli<els 
per acre, would be to the producer. Our agricultural soeie- 
2 



ia[ WHEAT CULTtJEE 

tres; should encourage this by offering a suitable medal to 
any ohq who is able to bring before the public a good seed 
suitable to e«r soil and climate. We have a vast number 
of specimens of greatly differing qualities both of grain and 
straWy and nothing would be easier under such a stimulus 
than to derive from these differing kinds such as would be 
suitable for all the different soils and elevations. 



IN TENI^ESSfiE. J9 



CHAPTER UI. 

AXCIENT HABITAT — INTEODUCTION INTO OTHEE COUN- 
TRIES — NEW VARIETIES — IMPORTANCE OF SELECTING 
SEEDS, AND THE BEST METHOD OF DOING SO, 

It is a well ascertained fact that those vegetables thrive 
best in the soils to which they are indigenous. According 
to a rule adopted by the celebrated Baron Humboldt, to de- 
termine the native country of any species, when that fact is 
in doubt, it is fair to presume it belongs to that country in 
which the greatest number of known species exists as indi- 
genous to the soil. This rule would place Persia as the 
place of its nativit}\ According to Diodorus, Isis and Osiris 
discovered wheat, barley and other vegetation, growing 
wild in the valley of the Jordan and carried them into 
Egypt, into the country of the Nile, and taught its inhabi- 
tants their uses and cultivation, and the natives considered 
this act of such immense benefit to mankind they deified 
and worshiped these agriculturists ever afterwards. Strabo 
declares that wheat was found growing spontaneously 
in Persia, and also on the banks of the Indus. Other 
writers attribute its nativity to India instead of Persia. But 
be that as it may, it will readily occur to the reader, judg-. 
ing from the reasons laid down by Humboldt and others, 
that, considering the many species of Triticum spread over 
both Persia and Northern India,' these countries may fairly* 
claim the parentage of this plant. Now the locality of 
these valleys will lie between the parallels of 30° and 40° 
North Latitude, and Avithin these same parallels the whole 
of Tennessee is situated, and though we are the antipodeg.. 



20 WHEAT CULTURE 

of those countries, the same sun that governs their climate 
and meteorology gives us the same life-giving principle. 

Many plants are produced and flourish spontaneously in 
certain places on the earth's surface, yet such is the adapta- 
bility of most plants that through the interference of man 
they are caj)able of being transferred to various points and 
of growing successfully as in their birth-place. Wheat is 
a signal example of this character of cereals though not 
confined to that species. In Asia wheat was only known 
by a few well defined species, yet by culture it has improved 
and increased until now largely over two hundred kinds 
are known and grown. At first botanists divided it into 
^'hard ^cheats/' '^soft toheats," and '' Polish toheats/' but soil, 
cultivation and climate have developed it into the many 
beautiful varieties now shown at every county fair. 

The hard wheats are the products of the warm countries, 
such as Egypt, Sicily and South Italy. The soft wheats 
flourish in the colder, damper climates, such as Sweden, 
Denmark and North Russia. The Polish wheats are those 
grown in the country from which its name is derived, 
and are hard or flint wheats. The hard wheats abound 
in o-luten or flesh-forming principle, and white wheat in 
starch or fat-producing principles. 

The hard wheats will not, according to our Southern 
method of milling, make as white flour because a large 
amount of silica and alumina exists in the hull or bran, and 
this being incorporated in the flour gives it a yellow hue. 
For this reason the country south of us has been heretofore 
debarred from cultivating the varieties of wheat best suited 
to its climate. But a new milling process, of which more 
hereafter, is fast being adopted by which the wheat is de- 
prived of its hull before grinding, and then the flint wheats 
will make as white flour and far more nutritious bread 
than any others. The white varieties of wheat are tender 
and liable to gprout from damp weather, and are far more 
subject to tiie depredations of the weevil. Besides, they 



IN TENNESSEE. 21 

require a much longer time to be dried before grinding or 
packing for transportation. Tlie hard wheats alone furnish 
flour suitable for manufacturing into maccaroni. 

Some soils are remarkable for the j)roduction of. good 
seed, while other soils will cause a constant degeneration, so 
that a frequent resort to new seeds is required. This is so 
well known in England that the produce of a certain parish 
in Cambridgeshire is sold for seed at a larger price than 
can be obtained for it for milling purposes. It will be to 
the interest of farmers to take advantage of this hint and 
always buy their seed from some one who uniformly makes 
good crops. It has been ascertained that all kinds of seed 
wheats of the same variety contain the same relative pro- 
portion of gluten and starch. For bread making the excess 
of gluten would be no objection, but to create a perfect 
vegetation a due proportion of these constituents is neces- 
sary and is essential to perfect maturity. So that, if this 
fact can be ascertained, it will at once be known there is an 
excess of nitrogeuous or animal manure in the soil or of 
vegetable humus. In either case the remedy is easily 
applied by the addition of the deficiency. 

By selecting seed from ears that show a superiority to 
the surrounding field, and sowing it carefully, we may be 
able to perpetuate a new species made by a fortuitous im- 
pregnation or some peculiarity of the soil. 

Many instances of this kind occur, and it is beyond 
belief the amount of wealth given to a single county by 
a careful attention to this simple hint. In many of the 
Basin counties an average of 25,000 acres are' annually 
sown. Before the introduction of the Boughton, Tappahan- 
nock, Fultz and other good varieties of wheat, fifteen to 
twenty bushels were considered an extraordinary yield. 
Since then from twenty-five to thirty-five are not uncom- 
mon on properly cultivated land. It it true the pride of 
havirsg a superior variety will stimulate to a carefu! prepa 
uU)u cf land and a prcper attenticn to. tM s-sltuie. Vh 



29 WHEAT CULTUEE 

is one of the legitimate results of good seed. Attention to 
thi» will increase the production for each county from 
20,000 to 100,000 bushels annually. We have many re- 
corded instances of the very valuable results from selecting 
good, large, plump grains for seed. In some instances the 
drop has been quadrupled in quantity and quality by the 
use of choicest seed selected in the manner stated. 

*^ Mr. J. B. Armstrong, of Wicomico county, Maryland, 
from one ounce of Fultz wheat, sown in drills, obtained 84 
ounces of wheat. From one omice of Clawsou he obtained 
76 ounces. The moles destroyed some of the latter or it 
would have been as good as the former. Mr. L. M. Wilson, 
of the same county, obtained two bushels of Clawson from 
1-^ pints of seed. This variety is a hard white flint, and 
has a very strong straw." — American Miller. 

In selecting imported wheat for seed cafe must be exer- 
cised as to the place whence it originated. Wheat grown in 
England, M'liich has a moist, cool climate, would not suit 
the warm, dry soil of Tennessee, but possibly if grown a 
year or two in Canada or Northern New York, it might be 
a valuable addition to our granary. Wheat sown year after 
year in moist soils will degenerate very rapidly. It be- 
hoves farmers to pay more attention to the causes of the 
deterioration of wheat. It may be that each variety is 
adapted to a' specific climate where it grows perfectly, and 
where it will not degenerate if supplied with a sufficiency 
of proper nourishment. Causes are ever at work to modify 
the germ and it requires constant and unremitting care to 
counteract these causes. Should wheat not yield as well as 
the land would seem to justify, new seed should be selected 
that is grown on a soil of different character and, if from a 
slightly different climate, all the better. The product will 
be improved both in quality and quantity. 

It is generally conceded that wheat grown on a sandy 
soil will succeed well on a heavy clay soil, or on the black 
soil derived from limestone. Seed from a damp soil will be 



IX TENNESSEE. |E3 

late in maturing and is liable to rust. It would be la g-ood 
change for the black and mulatto lands of Middle and East 
Tennessee to be supplied with good varieties grown in the 
sandy lands of West Tennessee. The selection of new 
varieties either by choosing from superior kinds the spon- 
taneous growth of nature, or by judiciously crossing varie- 
ties, each possessing qualities that are desirable and worthy 
of being perpetuated, offers a fine field either for botanical 
experiments or for the exercise of that philanthropy whicli 
impels one to the service of mankind. The extraordinary 
success of improvements in our garden vegetables, tlie 
production of innumerable new varieties of various escu- 
lents gives matter of surprise that the attention of the 
farming world has not been heretofore more particularly 
directed to an equal amount of experiments on the cereals, 
such as oats, wheat, barley and rye and the grasses gener- 
ally. What has been effected — can be done again, Wlien 
a person by any sort of process is able to make 50 or BO 
or 70 bushels per acre, others by pursuing as near as pos- 
sible the same process can do the same, or at least approxi- 
mate it. 

Seed properly selected should never have been through 
a thresher. It will not only mix but will convey many 
noxious seeds, such as "cheat," "cockle," "couch grass," etc. 
These seeds will lie dormant in the ground for years ftnd 
then coming within the germinating power of the sun spring 
up to annoy the farmer. As an evidence of the facility of 
threshers to sow seeds, the attention of every one has been 
drawn to the large amount of these troublesome weeds 
growing on the places where threshers have been set. 

Any man who will establish in his garden an experi- 
mental plot, can select the best heads of the most prolific 
wheat, sowing the next year the best heads alone, and still 
selecting from this the best heads, using the balance for 
field use, and in this manner keeping always one year 
ahead. This will make good seed. A practice that has re- 



24' WHEAT CULTURE 

suited in, a largely increased production has prevailed irt 
some sections, and merits special mention. 

Select a few bundles and strike them over the head of a 
barrel lightly. The heaviest, best matured grains will fall 
Qut, leaving those not fully ripe in the bundle. A few 
rijiinutes will suffice to secure seed in this manner that will 
improve ^ the ordinary yield very largely. This proves 
the. necessity of seed wheat being allowed to get fully ripe, 
before, cutting^ 



IN TENNESSEE. 25 



CHAPTEH lY. 

HiSTOEiCAL Allusions — Plants Allied to and In- 
festing Wheat, ^-Egilops, Couch Geass, Cockle. 

Mention has been made heretotore of the probable habitat 
of wheat ; but it is by no means a conceded point. Colum- 
bus never had his place of birth claimed by more cities 
than countries are claimed for the origin of wheat. We 
have good reason for believing much of this ambiguity 
results from two causes. In the first place, wheat either 
existed before the creation of man, or was so nearly his 
coeval in antiquity that it is prehistoric. We have the 
example of the fossils under our hills to prove that with 
each era in the creation the formation of any particular 
being was preceded by the creation of some special food 
suited to that creature. Diatoms and Algse, the mosses of 
the sea, preceded infusoria ; these served as food for the 
Radiata, which in turn sustain the more highly developed 
denizens of the sea. AVhen the ocean had been sufficiently 
stocked for the formation of carnivora, the sharks made 
their appearance. In like manner it was repeated on the 
land. Vegetation, suited to the many different animals, 
began to fleck the earth, and it is a reasonable supposition 
that, inasmuch as man was not able to digest the grasses of 
the field as do cattle, other more readily digestible food 
should be supplied to him in a form more suited to his 
limited powers of assimilation. 

In this manner, when man made his appearance upon 
the scene of crctior, he found not only the flocks ?nd 
herds ready lor nis consumption, but an abundraice o 
cereals, and it was only necessary for him to find their uses. 



26 WHEAT CULTURE 

This was effected by the gradual discovery of the properties 
of the various growths ol the earth. No doubt many fell 
victims to their experiments, as in the present age; but 
mankind reaped the benefit of their success, until all that is 
esculent has been added to the repertory of agi'iculture. 
As a matter of necessity, these discoveries long preceded the 
art of recording them ; hence, the origin of the old world 
cereals is left mainly to conjecture. In a paper addressed 
by Sir Joseph Banks to the Historical Society in 1805, he 
speaks of having received some seeds from a lady, among 
them a package labeled " Hill Wheat," the grains being 
about as large as the seeds of our ordinary grasses, but 
which, when looked at through a magnifying lens, were 
found to resemble the grains of wheat exactly. He sowed 
these seeds in his garden, and was greatly surprised to find 
the produce to be spring wheat of ordinary size. He made 
every inquiry possible to ascertain the history of these seeds, 
but could only elicit the fact that they came from India ; but 
whether they were the result of cultivation, or the sponta- 
neous production of nature, he could not discover. The 
explorations and discoveries of modern scientists are con- 
ducted with much more systematic care than formerly, and 
the results being constantly given to the world, excites a 
spirit of inquiry in others, and thus many important facts 
are annually added to the store of knowledge. Everyone has 
heard or read of the numerous specimens of wheat being 
found in the pyramids and the sarcophagi of the Eastern 
potentates, and these deposits of the world's food have lain 
here many thousands of years. It has often, also, been 
found among the lacustrian habitations of the aboriginal 
inhabitants of Germany and Switzerland, side by side with 
the many implements of the Stone Age. We may gather 
from this that it early found its way both east and west from 
its native home in Asia. When Cortez made his conquest 
of Mexico, a negro servant of the great conqueror discovered 
in his rations of rice a few grains of wheat, which he care- 



IN TENNESSEE. 27 

fully planted, and continued to plant for several successive 
years, and hence came the supply of Mexico and its neigh- 
boring States. Whether these few grains were brought by 
Cortez from Spain, or were collected rom the natives, does 
not appear in the history, but it is to be presumed the rice 
was brought from their colonies. 

Sicily has also laid claim to its parentage, from the fact 
that Ceres was a native of that island, and she is credited 
with having brought it thence to Greece and its provinces. 
It may have been cultivated in Persia or Egypt, and some 
of the seeds being scattered along the roadsides by the cara- 
vans that traversed the hills and deserts, germinated and 
continued to grow in these places, not accessible to culti- 
vation ; and though it does not under such circumstances 
lose its proper characteristics as wheat, yet it may be readily 
comprehended by similar instances that it would become 
small and weak. Our large pippins, weighing a pound or 
more, together with the many hundreds of delicious apples, 
are all developed from the unpromising and bitter crab. A 
very small poisonous root in Chili gave us the starchy 
potato, that has so often come between the poor of Europe 
and starvation. The juicy, sweet, highly prized parsnip 
springs frona a root that, from its resemblance and similar 
smell, has killed its thousands, being highly deleterious to 
human life. The luscious peach, more delicate in its flavor 
than all tropical fruits, more generally cultivated than even 
the apple, originates from the worthless bitter almond. If 
science can make such an improvement in these luxuries, 
how much more may we expect from the care that would 
naturally be bestowed on such a necessity. And yet, with 
all the wonderful advancement made in the character of 
these and other cereals, we have reason to believe, left to 
themselves, they would, after a lapse of sufficient time, 
revert to their original state. Everyone has seen a garden 
in its bloom and beauty, filled with the most delightful 
species of roses. Roses red, roses yellow, and pink, and 



28 WHEAT CULTUEE 

white, with all the intermediate tints, full of petals, running 
over with loveliness and perfume. Yet ■ ii'\sc same roses, 
deprived of the hoe and spade to battle with legions of 
weeds, seeking the destruction of these favorites of man, 
would soon, by these vandals, be choked to death, or they 
would lose their delicate petals, and others would take their 
place, the stems would arm themselves in their own defense, 
with long, sharp thorns; in fact, they would lose all but 
their delightful oder, which they would still offer up as an 
incense to their Maker. It is by no means a conceded 
point that no species can be entirely changed by cultivation 
on the contrary, a numerous and intelligent class of botan- 
ists claim to be able to effect a permanent departure from 
one species into another, so that, instead of there being one 
or more species, there will be one or more varieties of one 
species. Prof. Henslow's experiments would tend to show 
this doctrine to be so, but the species selected by Prof. 
Henslow were so nearly allied that it was not a positive fact 
that one was only a hybrid of the other. If, however, such 
a result should be effected, it might be that, through the 
agency of man, and under proper climatic influences, wheat 
itself may have been developed from some wild native 
grass, so different now from wheat, that their relationship 
should never be recognized. 

^GILOS OVATA. 

Many botanists have long contended wheat is the off- 
spring of the grass known as ^gilops Ovata. It grows 
spontaneously in Sicily, and though a coarse grass, growing 
only about eight or ten inches high, though much smaller, 
is precisely similar in appearance to wheat. There are sev- 
eral species of this grass. The rough -spiked ^gilops 
grows in the Levant, and is perennial. There are other 
species'of jEyilops called Cretan, long-spiked, oval-spiked, 
cyndrical-spiked, etc., to be fauud respectively in Candia, 
Italy, Hungary, and Southern Europe.- In gome places the 



IN TENNESSEE. 29 

seeds are roasted, and used for human food. All these 
seeds are precisely like wheat, except that they are very 
diminutive. It had often been asserted by various persons 
that wheat was Aegilops, altered by cultivation : but from 
the fact that the latter was only a bitter, miserable grass, 
ten or twelve inches in height, no botanist of respectability 
could be induced to make such an assertion. In fact, they 
declared their dissimilarity to be so great that they belonged 
to different genera. Beauvois, in 1812, in a dissertation, 
said there was no diiference, except artificially, between 
the two. 

A Frenchman, by name Fabre, Vv^ho was a gardner, a 
careful, punctual man, without any education, undertook to 
discover the diiference for his own satisfaction. So, in 
1838, he gathered the seeds of the JEegilops Ocata, and 
and sowed them in his garden. There was but little 
change, except as to height, it being two and a-half feet 
high. There were but one or two grains to the head, and 
these unlike either wheat or JEgilo-ps. He saved them 
carefully, however, and continued to plant from year to 
year, preserving specimens of each growth until 1845, when 
the plant was adjudged by all to be true wheat. The last 
change that occurred was from a pithy to a hollow stem. 
This experiment was conducted with great care, in enclosed 
places, carefully excluding all grasses, or anything likely to 
hybridize with it. It was known of many, and his pro- 
ceedings were closely watched by the neighbors. He was 
an uneducated man, and had no pride or desire to establish 
any particular theory on the subject; and so, when an 
article appeared in the proceedings of the Royal Agricultu- 
ral Society, it had a powerful effect in shaking the theory 
of botanists in the immutability of genera. However, wlien 
it is known that the culture of wheat largely predominated 
in that department, and often in the rays of sunshine large 
clouds of pollen are seen rising from the wheat fields and 
floating lazily with the wind, it is readily understood how 



30 WHEAT CULTUEE 

the plants become not only hybridized after cultivation, but 
that the process had been going on for some time before. 
The truth or falsity of this theory may be questioned or 
not, but the consequence of it, if true, would be very im- 
portant to the culturist in more ways than one. It would 
explain in a most sensible manner the disposition of wheat 
to degenerate, and to become diseased after cultivation in 
one section of country for a long time, and it would suggest 
the remedy. 

It hardly seems possible that all botanisls of so many 
years should have made such an evident error in their classi- 
fication, and that it should have been left to a simple gar- 
dener to discover this error, and expunge from the botany 
either Tritioum or jEgilops. 

Lieutenant Mayo, of the United States Navy, spent some 
time visiting the plains of Troy, while his vessel was 
cruising in the Archipelago. He gathered a few grains of 
what he supposed to be wild wheat growing there, and 
gave them to Dr. Wilson Waters, who has planted them 
for several years. He now (1831, American Farmer) has 
about a bushel of wheat that is larger than that derived 
from wheat grown in this country, but not so large as that 
derived from Chili. The stalk is nearly solid, has a large 
base, and is more tapering than ordinary wheat; has a 
head with long beard, fully six inches long, and it averages 
about forty grains to the head. It is thought it may be 
valuable from its heavy stalk, protecting it from the depre- 
dations of the fly, and from lodging. 

COUCH GEASS {Triticum Repens). 

This is a most troublesome grass, introduced from Europe, 
infesting many wheat fields and meadows, and is known by 
a different name in almost every locality. It is called 
witch-grass, twitch, quitch, quack, quake, squitch, dog-grass, 
chandler-grass, and wheat-grass. The plant is two feet 



IN TENJTESSEE, 31 

high, having rough leaves, somewhat hairy, and trailing at 
the lower joints, is perennial, and propagates itself both by 
its seeds and jointed stems and roots. Although it is a 
grass, its leaves are too coarse for fodder, and it performs 
the office of a vile weed, being an insidious creeper, multi- 
plying and ramifying itself in all directions. Its scraggy 
roots go deep into the ground, and take firm hold. Each 
joint can produce a new plant, which in turn, if not de- 
stroyed, will produce others without number. 

The only way to destroy this pest is to gather, dig, and 
burn. If land is well plowed, and turned often during dry, 
hot weather, it can be got rid of. But to dig or plow it 
up in wet weather, will only assist its projoagation. Its 
roots strike so deeply that it is almost impossible for it to 
be broken. In the early autumn its roots strike horizon- 
tally and obliquely in all directions, and continue to run 
until the cold weather interferes w^ith its growth. 

The roots are suculent and quite nutritious, and are by 
some people dug, cleaned, and fed to horses and cattle, while 
in the poverty-stricken counti'ies of Northern Europe the 
peasants dig the roots, dry them thoroughly, and grind them 
into meal that they may have cheap bread, and be enabled 
to sell their wheat to the rich. Hogs will plough up the 
ground with great zest in search of its rich joints. Its 
ashes contain about 10 per cent, of lime, 5 per cent, of pot- 
ash, 20 of bone, and balance silicates. This explains why 
clay is so congenial to its growth. Where land is foul with 
it, it is known, that turnips do well. It belongs to the 
family of Triticum. It is susceptible of hybridization. It 
may be seen in the corners of the fences of most of our 
grain fields, and though it has not troubled us to the same 
extent it has our Northern States, yet it is well the farmer 
should keep an eye on it lest it should take hold. Its seeds 
once mixed with wheat would soon give it such a set as 
would give employment for years to the thriftless farmer, 
who lets it steal upon him. 



32 WHEAT CULTUEE 

COCKLE {Lychnis Githacjo). 

This weed belongs to the Pink family (Caryophyllacce)) 
and derives its first name from Luchnos, a Greek word, 
meaning light, from the flaming color of its flowers in 
some species, and its heavy fur of cotton on the leaves. The 
ancients made wicks of the Midlein Lychnis for use in their 
lamps. Its second name, Githago, is from Gith, which 
means Guinea pepper, from the size and color of its seeds. 

Every farmer in the country is well acquainted with this 
pest, and it is one that, with but little attention, can be 
effectually destroyed. It is an annual, and to be propa- 
gated must be sown each year. This preservation is secured 
with great certainty by the farmer, for when once harvested, 
and it ripens with wheat, it, being of same size with wheat, 
passes through the seive, and, being heavier, it resists the 
efforts of any fan to separate it. Thus the farmer perpetu- 
ates it himself, and being so black, if in quantity, it gives 
a bluish tinge to the flour. It proves that great maxim of 
farmers not to put off until to-morrow what should be done 
to-day ; for when the cockle is once safely shocked with the 
wheat it is secure, it will do the balance of its hiding, and 
come up with its companion, the wheat, the next year. But 
if the farmer would, while the cockle is showing its baiuti- 
ful, purplish flowers all over the field, spare a few hours 
with his boys, he could soon go over the wheat, and by 
pulling it up, effectually destroy it, root and branch. There 
is no difficulty in detecting it. It raises its own flag of 
defiance, and it would be fun for the boys to pull it up. 
Much more difficult to destroy, and far more troublesome to 
the farmer, is the chess or cheat. 



IN TENNESSEE. S3 



CHAPTER V. 

CHESS OE CHEAT (bROMUS SECALINUS)-— BROME tjfJlJESS — 
DESCRIPTION OF — ERRORS REGARDING. 

This plant belongs to the order Graminece or grasses, anil 
to the tnhe festueeoi or fescue grass. There are many varie- 
ties of this grass, but the one above is sufficient for t)ur 
present purpose. Willard introduced it into this country 
under the impression it was a good forage grass. But it 
was soon discarded as being worthless, and not only worth- 
less, but injurious. The characteristics of this genus •ei'fi: 
Spikelets with 5 to many flowers pauicled ; glumes ^2»t 
quite equal, shorter than the flowers, mostly keeled) the 
lower with 1 to 5, the upper with 3 to 9 nerves ; the flt)'\\ners 
lanceolate, compressed ; the palea? herbaceous, the low£r 
keeled with 5 to 9 nerves, awned or bristle pointed from 
below the tip; the upper palea finally adherent to thegr^in, 
straws three, styles attached below the apex of the ovar3^ 
The grasses of this genus are coarse, with large spik^lBts, 
generally somewhat drooping when ripe. 

From the facts the grains of this grass are smaller tlian 
wheat, it is very difficult to separate it, and thus it seriously 
injures the sale and quality of wheat. As before f-e- 
marked, it was brought to this country by Willard under 
the impression it was a good addition to our list of feed 
grasses, and the seed were sold at an enormous price, ■and 
so eagerly was it sought after that it very sopn bfeeame 
disseminated all over the country. Its worthless character 
was soon ascertained and its cultivation abandoned, but 4iot 
until it had stocked nearly every grain field in the Ujiian. 
Its seeds have several thicknesses of husk, and beiiig V^ry 
small and of lov\^ vitality, it will remain dormant in'':'the 
soil for years until brought within the vivifying iufluencesiif 



34 WHEAT CTJLTUEE 

the sun. In this respect it resembles clover seed, that will 
produce a stand of clover after undergoing wonderful 
chances for destruction. A gentleman once fed clover hay 
to his horses during the autumn and winter and in February 
he dixg the manure up and placed it in a frame to make a 
hot bed. It there performed its office for the season, but 
lay until the following February, when it became necessary 
to remove the beds, and the old manure was scattered in 
the garden. He looked upon the whole pile as being a 
corpiis mwtuuSy but to his surprise the entire garden came 
np thickly with clover, and continued for a year to send up 
fresh plants with every stirring. 

Esq. Carothers, in Williamson county, sowed a piece of 
new ground in the corner of his woods lot with turnips in 
1861. The turnips, after laying through the winter, made 
seed, but the occupation of the county by the Federal sol- 
diers destroyed the fences, and the turnip patch stood ex- 
posed to stock during the war. In 1871 the patch or cor- 
ner was again broken up, this time included in the corn 
field, and after laying awhile it gave a full and heavy 
gro\Hh o-f turnips. Now if clover can withstand the diges- 
tive apparatus of a horse, the heating of a hot bed and come 
up, and if turnips can lay in the ground ten years and then 
vegetate, why, one need not be astonished at the powers of 
self-preservation of the chess. 

Mr. Thos. Hamlet, of Davidson county, bought a lot of 
wheat with a few grains of chess in it. He sowed it and 
with it of course the chess seed. He continued to sow the 
same quality of wheat for several years, gradually increas- 
ing the quantity of chess until his crop was almost totally 
chess instead of wheat. Now, although he had deliberately 
contributed to effect this result, his farm was spoken of far 
and near gis an instance in which a variety of wheat had 
been converted into cheat. It became so grevious an evil 
ho had to abandon for a few years the cultivation of wheat, 
and during the interval the cheat continued to grow as any 



IN TENNESEEE. 35 

any other grass would. But finally it departed and he was 
able to resume wheat culture. 

It IS a well known fact that this is treading on tender 
ground, when it is sought to convert this time honored 
theory of the conversion or degeneration of wheat into 
cheat, but the duty of a truthful and faithful officer compels 
him to apply the surgeon's knife to all errors, in hopes, if 
the true theory is once established, we may by a united 
effort not only eradicate the error, but the vile pest also. 
Every one is liable to jump at conclusions from hasty ob- 
servations, and where once the inference is made and ac- 
cepted, it is a difficult rnatter to correct it. 

The most common opinion is that wheat that has been 
pastured early, or over which a wagon has been driven, is 
more subject to this change. The fact is cited that if a gap 
occurs in the fence through which stock mostly pass, the 
path made by them has the most cheat in it. They explain 
it in the following manner : Wheat that is covered deeply 
sprouts and sends up its plumule to the air and its roots 
spread from the grain around. The depth of the seed and 
roots is so great that the plumule sends out another set of 
rootlets near the surface soil. In treadino; on the around 
around grains that have taken on this process of double 
roots, the stem of the wheat becomes severed between the 
grain and the surface roots, and it then degenerates into 
cheat. This is an assumption not warranted by the facts. 
It is only forming a theory of explanation for an assumed 
fact when there is in reality nothing of the kind. 

In the first place, cheat is a hardier plant than wheat, 
and a continual battle is going on between the two for ex- 
istence, none the less deadly because it is silent. The wheat 
being a cultivated plant requires more protection or assist- 
ance to maintain its life. The amount of 'injury it receives 
from the depredations o ijtock tends to weaken its hold on 
life, while the cheat takes advantage of its weak condition 
and thrusts up itsi noisome head and makes good its hold on 



36 WHEAT CULTUEE 

the field. If the field is trod through the entire winter, it 
thus gives the cheat more and better opportunities, of which 
it never fails to avail itself. If one part of a field could 
transmute its wheat into chess, the whole could just as 
easily, and there remains yet to be a record of a whole field 
undergoing this degeneration. Besides, chess makes its 
appearance in all wheat fields where the wheat, from any 
cause whatever, has become weak and feeble in its growth, 
on the j^rinciple above stated. It is asserted by some that 
the chaff of chess does not contain any seed; but this asser- 
tion is not borne out by the facts, and is never asserted by 
any one who has submitted the reproductive organs and 
flowers of chess to microscopic observation, for in this re- 
spect it is just as perfect as any other plant, and the thick 
chaff seems to protect its abbuminous body for years. Not 
only so, but under favorable circumstances, during mild 
winters, the plant deprived of its head before maturity of its 
seed, will remain green and vegetate again in the spring. 
This is especaally the case in meadows, where the roots are 
protected by a swathe of hay. Meadows in this manner 
have been effectually ruined by chess. And yet no wheat 
had been sown here to give it birth, it having been de- 
posited by the droppings of stock. If the treading of cattle 
could change wheat into chess, why could not the same 
cause change other plants ? We never hear of clover de- 
generating into timothy, or timothy into herdsgrass, or 
herdsgrass into orchard. Yet these are all grasses and as 
liable to degenerate into one another as wheat or cheat into 
each other. Nor do pumpkins go into melons, or cucum- 
bers into gqustelj. Each and every plant has its distinctive 
character and maintains it through all time, only modified 
by changes o£ location, climate or soil. Cheat requires 
a large amount of moisture to reach through its thick husk 
and cause ite seed to germinate; hence moist places are 
favorable to ita growth, and its rankness is such that it 
overshadowg aa^d chokes out the wheat, therefore a farmer 



IN TENNESSEE. 37 

passing in the early spring a place of this kind and seeing an 
abundance of wheat growing, and afterwards in harvest see- 
ing nothing here but cheat, will easily persuade himself the 
wheat has changed to cheat. 

Again, the nature of this husk is to protect it, and hence 
it will lie in the crop of birds and in the stomach of horses 
and cattle utterly unchanged until evacuated. Birds pass- 
ing over wdieat fields drop them as well as animals, and 
thus it is common to see cheat growing especially around 
stumps or dead trees in newly cleared fields. 

It is an unquestioned fact that all allied species of plants 
and animals will hybridize and produce offspring partaking 
of the characters of both parents, and this is exemplified in 
the case of tlie horse and the ass, both being allied— species 
of the genus equine. But who ever saw a hybrid from 
chess and wheat ? That it has every facility for hybridizing 
will not admit of a doubt, growing promiscuously with 
each other, flowering at the same time, and being each en- 
veloped in a cloud of pollen. Yet it never mixes. The 
distinctive features of each has always and ever will be 
preserved, as are the characteristics of all the animals and 
plants created in the earth for man's use or adornment. If 
farmers would cease to yield to this fatalism of belief, and 
instead of blindly accepting the inevitable, as they think, 
set themselves to work, in a few years, by sovv^ing habitu- 
ally clean wheat seed, the genus Bromus, or chess, would 
disappear from our grain fields altogether. 

Another aroument which I have failed to notice in its 
proper place : Some will tell you that treading does pro- 
duce cheat, for it is always found thickest around a thresh- 
ing machine, and the treading of men and horses produced 
it. If any one will look into the joints and cogs and seams 
of the thresher, the secret of its propagation will be at once 
detected. The seeds of the cheat lie there hidden in suffi- 
cient numbers, and only the shaking of the machine is 
necessary to put the seed on the ground. 



38 WHEAT CULTURE 



CHAPTER VI. 

DEGENERATION OR DETERIORATION OF WHEAT — IMPROVE- 
MENT OF WHEAT. 

Although it may seem that wheat to a certain extent de- 
generates, it really does not actually occur ; the genus re- 
mains the same unaltered and unalterable, but the species 
undergoes certain changes from influence of climate, soil, 
altitude and cultivation. A frequent and subtle cause of 
apparent change may be found in a simple circumstance. 
A man procures a fine variety of wheat, and being much 
pleased with it, he sows it from year to year. However, he 
begins after a year or two to notice a change ; it becomes 
deteriorated, and after a sufficient length of time his wheat, 
so much admired at the outset, becomes another species en- 
tirely, and yet he would declare that he had carefully pre- 
served his seed. This is easily explained. The threshers 
are carried from field to field, cleaning wheat crops of 
various kinds, but never cleaning out themselves, so that in 
the cracks and crannies many a grain becomes transported 
to a neighbor's bin, of whicli he is entirely ignorant. 

There are many varieties of wheat that, though coarse 
and inferior, have much more vitality than the finer kinds. 
This vigorous coarse wheat once introduced with a superior 
wheat will make its own way, and though the change began 
with only a few grains, it soon shows to the farmer his 
favorite wheat is fast losing its beauty; the miller gives him 
a smaller price for it, and he tirades against the degeneracy 
of wheat, and says no kind will remain good. Xow whose 
fault it is may be readily seen, and only the careful farmer 
who uses the necessary precautions^ may expect to jjerpetu- 



IX TENNESSEE. ^9 

ate a good variety. It is not the less true tliat wheat does 
undergo changes from a change of soil and other contin- 
gencies. It is known that red wheat, by high culture and 
good land becomes less red, and this improvement can 
]3rogress until it settles into a white wheat. A case of this 
kind came under my observation a few years ago, A gen- 
tleman who had paid much attention to the selection of his 
seed, let a farmer in a neighboring county have some seed of 
Mediterranean. They both continued to sow the same 
wheat for a few years and then meeting at a mill, it was 
found on comparison, the wheat of one had become darker 
and that of the other lighter, making such a mailced dis- 
tinction between the two, it did not appear they coiild be 
from the same seed. 

Although there may be no positive evidence that bearded 
wheat ever changes into smooth heads, yet many believe in 
this very variety it is the case, as the wheat has every 
mark of Mediterranean except its beard. A variety of 
wheat is cultivated in France that loses its beard the mo- 
ment it becomes ripe. It is a long head, has very long 
awns or beards, and an exceedingly thick husk or chaff, and 
is white and heavy. It does not withstand the cold very 
well, or it would make a valuable addition to the farmer of 
Tennessee, for it yields on moderately good soil from 80 to 
45 bushels per acre. The straw is long, heavy and of re- 
markable whiteness. It is cultivated near Brionde. 

It is astonishing what effect climate and soil have on the 
production of the same variety. Tennessee embraces as 
many essentially different characters of soil and climates as 
any State in the Union. Altitude also has its influence not 
only on wheat but other productions. Every one is familiar 
■with the difference that exists in the same variety of apples 
on the low lands of Middle Tennessee and the same apple 
on the Cumberland table land. A higher degree of lattitude 
is more congenial to the growth and maturity of apples 
than Middle Tennessee, and although on the table lands of 



40- WHEAT CULTURE 

the Cimibei'land you are in the same latitude precisely, yet 
in effect you are further north, as altitude compensates for 
latitude. In like manner peaches succeed far better south 
of us in. a sandy soil. West Tennessee, though in the same 
latitude, being lower in altitude than Middle Tennessee, 
ami having a very porous, sandy soil, succeeds far better in 
producing peaches than Middle Tennessee. The causes that 
will affect one vegetable will affect all. Suppose this or 
ajDty other wheat was sent from France to Canada, Tenn- 
essee,, Florida and California. The products of these sev- 
eral places would be unlike. And if the same wheat were 
cultivated for fifteen or twenty years, there would be four va- 
rieties of wheat, all differing from one another, and still all 
differing from the original. ' The Canada would probably 
ripen about the first of August, the Tennessee 
about the first of June, and the California and Florida 
about tlie first of May, And more than this. If the va- 
rieties acclimated in these several places be brought to 
Tennessee, that from Canada will ripen a few days earlier 
than the Tennessee variety, and that from Florida a few 
days later, because the Canada wheat being used to a colder 
climate is stimulated by our warm sun to a quicker growth, 
while the colder climate here retards the Florida wheat 
that ba& been basking under a sub-tropical heat. 

Thus it so often happens that wheat, imported from a 
country so essentially different in soil, climate, and other 
material qualities from our own, fails to come up to our ex- 
pectations. We bring here a beautiful wheat from England, 
a cold, moist climate, and sow it in our warm, dry soil, and 
it proves a perfect failure. On the other hand we bring it 
from the parched, hot climate of Egypt or Syria which, com- 
pared with that of ours, is cold and moist, and we have an- 
other failure. It is not the variety of wheat that creates 
such a marked difference, but it is the different environ- 
ments. Hence its quality is owing to local conditions, and 
not to the better quality of the wheat. Therefore there is 



IN TENNESSEE. 41 

little to be gained by this change. Success can be attained 
far easier in propagating different varieties here, than by 
importations. The principal difference between red and 
white wheats consists in the amount of gluten and silex in 
the skin or bran. Gluten is found to be two or three times 
as thick in some varieties as in others. It is thickest in 
the coarse, heavy, red wheat, medium in amber, and least in 
white wheat. There is much more silex in the red than 
in the white wheat; but climate, soil and cul- 
ture, modify the amount of gluten and silex as well as 
all other characteristics] of the plant, and in this way new 
varieties are formed. So lono- as the conditions under 
which these varieties are formed continues, the wheat re- 
mains the same, but a change in that regard would cause 
them to revert to their original state. Other causes than 
climate, soil or culture sometimes operate to get up a new 
variety. 

A farmer sows one variety of wheat a number of years 
without any change or degeneration. At last he finds a 
single head or a bunch different in every respect from the 
balance. He secures it, and from its produce for several 
years he starts a new variety. He cannot account for its 
presence, for had it been set there by a commingling made 
by a thresher, he would have found others of the same sort. 
Hybridizing would be an impossibility without another 
kind to hybridize from. Pollen blown by the wind would 
possibly have changed more than one stem, and the variety 
would still in part "be like the parent. One set of theorists, 
account for it by attributing it to the droppings of migrat- 
ing birds. This is hardly to be admitted, from the fad 
that when a grain of seed passes through the active diges- 
tive apparatus of a bird, there is not much probability of it 
being able to germinate. Yet it is possible, and it is an 
admitted fact that seed brought from the north to the sout i 
any considerable distance will greatly improve in size an ! 
vigor, surpassing that already acclimated. In this manne 



42 WHEAT CULTUEE 

the celebrated Fultz wheat originated. A blacksmith named 
Fultz, ^passing from his shop to his house, cut across fields. 
He noticed a bunch of heads in a neighbor's field, present- 
ing a marked variety, dififering from that around it. It 
was so much more thrifty looking that he marked it, and on 
ijiaturity he secured it. Sowing it in his garden, carefully 
preserving it from year to year, until he had enough to 
make a respectable field of wheat. It did not disappoint 
his expectations, and it was eagerly sought by the commu- 
nity. Its popularity very soon ceased to be local, and some 
of it being secured by the Department of Agriculture, was 
distributed all over the United States. We all know the 
success it has achieved, and its popularity is now only in the 
beginning. 

Every eifort to improve the varieties of wheat does not 
meet v.'ith the same degree of success, but the discovery of 
this is so beneficial that others should be incited to the 
same laudable efforts. But we will discuss this under the 
head of varieties of wheat, to which we devote a chapter. 
We come now to the subject of the nomenclature of wheat. 



IX TEISNESSEE. 43 



CHxiPTER yil. 

CLASSIFICATION OF WHEAT — DIFFERENT VARIETIES GROWN 
IN THE STATES, W^ITH THEIR DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER- 
ISTICS. 

I sent out to every county of the State, during the sum- 
mer of 1877, questions soliciting information in relation to 
the wheat crop. Many correspondents have replied with a 
fullness of detail which, added to my own personal obser- 
vations, gives me ample means of forming a correct esti- 
mate as to the condition of wheat culture in the State. It 
would s6em a simple matter to the uninitiated to properly 
classify the different varieties grown in the State, but when 
it is reflected that every variety has a local name for each 
neighborhood, unless the correspondents will describe the 
named varieties, it is utterly out of our power to be at all 
times accurate in our nomenclature. For instance, while 
we have from different parts of the State some thirty-five 
or more varieties mentioned by our correspondents, we are 
able, by our personal knowledge, to resolve them into six 
or eighty while several with which we are not acquainted 
may, under the guise of a local name, resolve itself into one 
or others of our old friends. With this explaination we 
shall first enumerate the standard and known varieties, 
which are acknowledged to be such, botanically, and then 
to adopt the local cognomens of these standards. In this 
manner only can we become thoroughly understood when 
we speak of any kind as one of a well-known variety in 
East Tennessee, which, in West Tennessee, would be called 
by an entirely different name, and hence lead to the confusion 
of a supposed new sort. In this manner much money is 
spent and time lost in securing a variety from a distan,ce 



44 WHEAT CULTUEvE 

that is already generally cultivated in the neighborhood. 
A farmer visits a distant county from his own, with all the 
elements of the soil different, and being pleased with a 
growth of wheat, he takes it home, and succeeding well, it 
is sought by his neighbors, and they, to distinguish it from 
others', call it by the introducer's name. 

This system of naming is carried to so great an extent that 
the commonest kinds of wheat have a name for every section 
of country. We propose to try to remedy this by giving 
generic names to the leading varieties, and then giving the 
sub-varieties a number attached to the local name, and in 
this manner one name can be substituted for all synonyms. 
In tlius establishing a nomenclature for Tennessee, we will 
also give the names most commonly used in other States to 
prevent confusion, and also to prevent fraud in sending to 
other States to purchase through advertisements. We 
know, in doing this, we are undertaking a very difficult and 
laborious task, and we doubt our ability to make rt satisfac- 
tory ; yet the matter has not been attempted in the State, 
and we hesitatingly try, hoping our effort will be properly 
construed. We well know the very difficulty we are trying 
to remedy will subject us to much criticism. It will prob- 
ably be seen that a species of wheat is here classed differ- 
ently from what it is known in some localities. In some 
sections of the State a variety is known by half a dozen 
names, each differing from the one by which it is known 
elsewhere. Under these circumstances it will readily be 
seen the necessity for a revised classification. The impor- 
tance of assisting the farmer in the selection of his seed- 
wheat \vill alone justify the undertaking. If one should 
visit the grounds of any of our leading nurseries, he 
will find the gardener careful in labeling all the many vari- 
eties of apples, peaches, pears, grapes, berries, etc., even 
their particular llavors and colors are mentioned, and this is 
carried to such minutia that one can seiect from the cata- 
logue just such fruit as he desires. Yet we find that great 



IN TENNESSEE. 45 

staff of mankind, more universally cultivated -than any other 
cereal, "the only produce of laud which necessarily and 
always affords some rent to the landlord, actually, as it were, 
without a name. It may be stated as an adage, in select- 
ing seed-wheat, " Take care of the pecks, and the bushels 
will take care of themselves." 

I have already given the botanic description of the genus 
Trilicum, which we deem all that is necessary to say on that 
subject, although there are seven species of this genus. 
Flint, in his excellent treatise on grasses, gives his classifi- 
cation of wheat also, but as a grass. We propose to treat 
this in a comraon-s^nse manner, avoiding as much as possi- 
ble all scientific technicalities, so as to enable every one, the 
practical as well as the amateur farmer, to comprehend the 
meaning. What the farmer mostly wishes to know is the 
appearance of each variety, and its ciipacity of making good 
bread. 

With these explanatory remarks, we will proceed with 
our classification, after making one explanation in regard to 
winter and spring wheat. They are essentially the same, 
and it will be unnecessary to divide them into a separate 
class. Spring wheat is made such by sowing winter wheat 
in February, or early in March. Of course a failure would 
be made the first year, the heads being for the most part 
barren, but there will be found here and there a few plump 
grains. These sowed the next year will make a rather 
better show than before; and thus it will continue to im- 
prove, and in a very few years a fair spring variety will be 
produced. Spring wheat is converted into winter in pre- 
cisely the same manner. .It is sown in the autumn, and a 
small portion possibly survives the winter cold, but that 
will assist in gradually converting the variety into a winter 
wheat. In Tennessee, spring wheats are almost unknown, 
only one county in the State considering it of sufficient 
importance to report. As a rule, they do not suit our soil 
or climate, and the winter varieties are so far superior, both 



46 WHEAT CULTUBE 

in yield and quality, that there is no inducement to produce 
them. Besides, even where most grown, they only serve as 
a substitute when the other is winter-killed. Then, at the 
usual time of sowing spring wheat, our farmers are busily 
engaged in preparing their ground for the summer crop. 
On the other hand, the winter wheat is put in at a compar- 
atively leisure time. For all these reasons it does not pay 
to produce it, therefore it will occupy a small place in our 
list of val^uable wheats. 

FAMILY NUMBER 1. 

WINTER W^HEATS. 

FAMILY NUMBER 2. 

SPRING WHEATS. 

Number 1 — Winter Wheats* 

Class 1 — White wheats, smooth heads. 
Class 2 — White Avheats, bearded heads. 
Class 3 — Amber wheats, smooth heads. 
Class 4 — Amber wheats, bearded heads. 
Class 5 — Red wheats, smooth heads. 
Class 6 — Red wheats, bearded heads. 

Family 2 — Sjmnff Wheats, all Bearded., 

Class 1 — -White spring wheats. 
Class 2 — ^ Amber spring wheats. 
Class 3 — Red spring wheats. 

The sub-varieties should be given a number and a rtam^, 
which number should be first added to the local nanieg 
given to each, for which one common nam^ should be sub- 
stituted* 

ARRANGEMENT^ 

1. The name, ot names, of the wheat, and the particular 
soil or climate fof which it may be suited, the propei* period 



IN TENNESSEE. 47 

of sowing It, whether it be liable to injury from drought, 
moisture, or frost in Its earlier or later growth, and its lia- 
bility to disease. 

2. Its period of flowering and ripening. 

3. The height and nature of its straw, whether it be 
white or dark-colored, brittle or tough, if liable to lodge or 
fall in wet weather, its uses, etc. 

4. Nature of the ear, whether compact or scattering on 
the head, its length. This, of course, is greatly modified 
by some soils, but it will be interesting to know such vari- 
ations and the produce per acre. And right here I wish to 
state that our statements of produce Is not founded upon 
what it may yield in Indifferent soil, but in the best, and 
w'lth the best culture. , 

5. Color of the grain, this also varying with change of 
soil, whether coarse or thin-skinned^ whether round or oval, 
large or small^ whether liable to shatter or not. 

6. Nature of flour and bran, with their relative qualities. 

7. Whether the dough rises well or not. 

FAMILY 1. 

CLASS 1, — WHITE WHEAT, 8MAL.L CHAFF. 

1. Delhi. — A valuable white wheat. Introduced from 
Canada several, years ago, and gaining in popular favor. It 
requires to be sown early, so as to allow it to ripen early, as 
it Is rather late, and as such liable to be attacked by rust. 
On mulatto or gravelly loam it will do much better than 
on alluvial soil, as it Is less liable to rust. It has done well 
here, and on rather thin land made thirty bushels per acre. 
In Canada, Its general yield is forty bushels per acre. It 
makes a line, white flour, and dry, good bread. It has an 
ear from three-and-a-half to four Inches in length, small 
grain, thin skinned ; a bushel weighed sixty-six pound. If 
over-ripe it shatters, the husk not being very thick. 

2. Tajp'pahannoch. — This wheat has been sown largely of 



48 WHEAT CULTURE 

late, and is probably the most popular wlieat of the State, 
It originated in Pennsylvania, and was popular there many 
years before it was distributed. The Agricultural Bureau 
has the honor of having drawn it from its obscurity, and 
given it a more general cultivation than it could have re- 
ceived in the usual way in a generation. Bags containing a 
pint were sent all over the Union, and careful husbandmen 
found this supply amply sufficient to start the whole coun- 
try in its use. It has an ear about three inches long, full, 
round grain, thin skin, rather large, quite hardy, tillers well, 
ripens about the 10th of June, straw light-colored, about 
four feet high, and stands up well. The millers place a 
high estimate on it, and the flour from it is most excellent 
and dry. Eighteen pounds of flour has made twenty-four 
pounds of bread. The soil best suited for it is black loam, 
though it does well on any rioh moist soil. It has, in the 
State, produced 30 to 40 bushels, and on clover land, will 
almost always do well. 

3. Bougliton or Boivden. — About ten years ago a Mr. 
Boughton, of Virginia, raised this wheat and gave it a great 
popularity. Where he derived his seed is unknown to the 
writer, but in other States, west, it is called Oregon wheat. 
It is almost, if not identical with the preceding; in fact, 
many farmers and millers claim it as identical. On exam- 
ination of two samples presented the similarity was great, 
but it appeared the Boughton was rather shorter and rounder 
than the Tappahannock. However, the description of one 
will answer for the other. There is no practical difference. 
The Boughton was introduced into Middle Tennessee from 
Virginia and Kentucky simultaneously, and at once achieved 
great popularity. This was in 1866-7. From 30 to 40 
bushels^ were occasionally made per acre. It has main- 
tained its high character. Within the recollection of 
the writer, there has been but one failure of this crop, 
and that was not general, but followed the course of a 



IN TENNESSEE. 49 

drought. It is but little liable to rust, as it ripens quite 
early in June. The remarks about Tappahannock will ap- 
ply so completely to this variety the reader is referred to 
the description of the former. 

4. Early White May. — This has a white chaff, the heads 
somewhat heavier than white flint. This is a good variety, 
and from the beautiful and large proportion of extra 
flour to the quantity of grain, the White May is unequaled. 
It was at one time grown quite extensively, but from some 
cause, has given place to others. It ripens quite early, and 
so escapes rust and fly, but is liable to be winter-killed. It 
yields on good ground, 20 to 25 bushels per acre. It is 
low, three to three and a half feet high, and has a small 
grain. It weighs from 60 to 67 pounds per bushel. 

5. White. — There was, about 25 or 30 years ago, a wheat 
known as white wheat, grown all over the State, and from 
the beauty of its berries was very much sought for as seed. 
Since then it has almost disappeared, though still cultivated 
in some counties. It was very tall, has light straw, long 
heads, and yiel-ded well when the season suited it. Its ex- 
treme lateness, however, rendered it liable to rust, and it 
was Ijadly attacked, as a rule, with smut, though the dis- 
covery of the efficacy of blue-stone will render this objec- 
tion nugatory. It yields from 18 to 35 bushels per acre. 
It is excelled by no wheat as a flour-maker. 

6. White Smooth Head Mediterranean. — A flint wheat, 
once known in Middle Tennessee as the Gad Frierson, and 
very popular. It is .supposed to be a hybrid of the Med- 
iterranean and White wheats, and partakes of the character 
of both parents. It is not really white wheat, but rather 
belongs to the class of Amber wheats. It ripens with the 
Mediterranean, and yields 20 to 25 bushels per acre. It 
has so greatly deteriorated that it has almost ''run out" 

7. Blue Stem or Purple Straw. — The straw is tall \mt 

4 



50 WHEAT CULTURE 

stands well; the grain is short but plump, with a very 
thin skin ; chaff white, and the straw near the head blue, 
hence the name Blue Stem. The flour is of the very best 
quality, and the wheat always commands a good price. It 
was carried to Pennsylvania from Virginia, many years 
ago, became acclimated there, and was carried thence South, 
and therefore has since been called Poinsylvania Blue Stem. 
It is late, however, and like all late wheats, subject to rust. 
At one time it was extremely popular, and in some localities 
maintains its popularity. It is called by many names in 
various localities. North of the Ohio it is yet a very pop- 
ular wheat, and probably more raised than any other white 
wheat. It ripens with the Mediterranean. It is the same 
as ttie "Flint," "New York Flint," "Durst" and "Genes- 
see," according to locality. 

8. Shaker. — A variety of the Little May, twenty years 
ago cultivated to a great extent. No doubt it is the Little 
May modified by soil and culture. It made on good ground 
a fine yield. It is little sown now. 

9. White Amber is mentioned by one of our correspond- 
ents. From its name we suppose it is one of the Amber 
wheats, grown on soil that induces a paleness in the color 
of the grain. Some soils have the quality of converting 
Amber, or even Red wheats into white. It is highly prob- 
able this is the Smooth-head Mediterranean, or some of that 
class of Flint wheats. 

10. Genessee Flint — A.11 remarks about No. 7, or Blue 
Stem, apply to this. This name is also applied to a white 
bearded variety, and to a red bearded. The name, however,, 
properly belongs to the Smooth -head Blue Stem. 

11. Clanson or Clawson. — This is a new variety origi- 
nated by Stephen Clawson, and stands at this time without 
a rival on the wheat farms of the Lake Shore. A great 
discussion took place last year in the Comitry Gentleman^ 



IN TENNESSEE. 51 

as to the relative value of Clawson and Deihl. The advo- 
cates of the Clawsou claimed it would yield at least ten 
bushels per acre more than the Deihl, and substantiated 
their assertions by facts and figures. Northern wheat, as a 
rule, is much improved by bringing South, and it appears 
this variety would well repay any enterprising farmer who 
would make the experiment. It has never been cultivated 
to any extent in Tennessee, but deserves a trial. It is said 
to thrive well on alluvial lands, and readily yields from 40 
to 50 bushels per acre. A small quantity sent by mail 
could be used to make a start, and by the time one would 
have enough to sow a respectable field, it would become ac- 
climated. It is related to the Mediterranean and is a white 
flint. 

12. A species of wheat called the JRainbow wheat, is thus 
described by Mr. Winstead, who raises it : " The Rainbow 
wheat was brought into this country from Southern Russia. 
I got a small quantity of it, and have been raising it for 
four years. The stalk is strong, and the wheat grows very 
tall on poor land, and has never been known to have smut or 
rust since its advent into this country. It is a beautiful white 
wheat, very plump berry, and will weigh 66 pounds to the 
measured bushel. I regard it as the best wheat grown in 
the State." 

13. Australian White Wheat. — For the same reasons 
stated above, it is proper to include in this list the beautiful 
"Australian White Wheat." This wheat secured the pre- 
mium at Philadelphia last year, over more than one thou- 
sand competitors, and stands preeminent as a prolific vari- 
ety. The grain is rather small, white, thin-skinned, but 
the heads are very long and it tillers luxuriantly. Captain 
Thomas F. Perkins, of Franklin, Williamson county, gave 
a dollar for a thimble full, and John B. McEwen, Esq., got 
three or four grains of it. Thomas F. Perkins, Sr., sowed 
the balance in his garden, and unfortunately the mules 



52 WHEAT CULTURE 

breaking into the garden destroyed a large quantity of it. 
Yet he was able to secure, and now has half a bushel. 
John B. McEwen got from one grain over fifty stalks, and 
gathered one pint of seed. It is fair to presume, from one 
or the other of these sources, we may expect in a few years 
to be abl6 to tell whether it will suit our climate. The 
probability is that it will suit our thirsty, gravelly hills, it 
being the general character of the Australian lands. This 
ends the Smooth-head class, and we now come to the second 
cla-is, or 



IX TENNESSEE. 53 



CHAPTER YIII. 

CLASSIFICATION OF WHEAT CONTINUED — CLASS 2. — WHITE 
WHEATS, BEAEDE1> HEADS. 

No. 1. Quaker, very similar to the Mediterranean, equal- 
ly as hardy and very proliftc. Like all white wheats it is 
more subject to rust and other diseases than the red. It is 
only raised in a few counties in the State. 

2. White Mediterranean.. — This, it is highly probable, is 
nothing more than an ordinary Mediterranean, that is con- 
verted into a white by change of location. It is a flinty 
wheat, and ripens with the red variety. It is not superior 
to the red in any respect, and owing to the thickness of its 
skin, it does not make a good flour by any mills now in use 
in the South, but stands weathering in shock well. 

3. White Quaker. — Sam^ as Quaker described under head 
of No. 1. 

In addition to these may be mentioned the ''Old White 
Flint," "Rock," ''New York," "Kentucky White," and 
various others, but they do not belong to the list of Tennes- 
see wheats, and we attempt in this work to give a list of 
such wheats as are grown in Tennessee, or likely to be 
grown. This rule, however, will not prevent us from call- 
ing the attention of farmers to an extra and promising va- 
riety, when the occasion seems to justify it, as in the case 
of the Clawson and Australian, although these wheats may 
not be cultivated in Tennessee. 

CLASS 3. — AMBER SMOOTH HEAD. 

No. 1. — Amber. — This is more a generic than a special 
term, yet there is a variety generally known by this name, 
and is quite popular, both with the farmer and the miller. 



54 WHEAT CULTURE 

It is only within a few years that the Amber has been re- 
cognized, formerly it being classed light red or yellow. 
This is a medium wheat as to time of ripening, but a very 
sure producer. The grains are round, plump and full. The 
straw is not disposed to lodge, and yields at best from 20 to 
35 bushels per acre. It is a sure crop almost any year, and 
commands the highest price in the market, not yielding in 
value even to the jBner whites. A more attractive-lookins: 
wheat might be raised, but as a general thing no better 
wheat is grown, and the farmer cannot do better than to 
give it a place every year on his fields. 

2. "Yelloio Lammas," /' Old Lamme.''^ — This wheat is 
one of the oldest wheats in the State. Forty years ago it 
was raised quite extensively in Middle Tennessee, but not 
from any defect of its own, it gave place to others. It 
has to a small extent been restored to cultivation here, but 
it is not of a sufficiently remunerative kind to take its old 
place. It originally came from England, and is there one 
of the standard wheats now. 

3. ''Golden Straw;' ''Whir//' " Golden Chaff/' ''Shot."— 
An old variety that was universally cultivated thirty and 
forty years ago, but has long since grown into disfavor. It 
became very subject to disease, especially rust. It is late in 
ripening. The sti'aw is tall and heads long, grain good and 
makes fine flour. It is still cultivated in a few localities, 
old farmers being loth to give up an old friend. But there 
are so many new and better varieties, it would seem to be 
the policy of the farmer to go to the better. 

CLASS 4. — AMBER-BEARDED HEADS. 

This class in Tennessee is almost wanting. There are a 
few varieties cultivated in other States, but except as a mat- 
ter of curiosity it is seldom raised here. The disposition 
of all bearded wheats to sprout in the shock, from the great 
amount of moisture held by the awns or beards, makes it 



IN TENNESSEE. 55 

■certainly to the farmers' interest to secure the smooth head, 
■especially as the bearded is so disagreeable to handle. 

No. 1. Pennsylvania. — There are several wheats by this 
name, both smoof:h and bearded. Having described one of 
that name under the head of ^'Blue Stem," it will be proper 
to place the other here. It is a bearded variety, yellow 
grains and heads short. It is early, and a medium pro- 
ducer. 

No. 2. Yellow Bearded. — This is quite extensively culti- 
vated in the Northern States, to a very limited extent here, 
and yields quite handsomely. It is very much like the 
Mediterranean, and ripens about the same time. Makes, 
however, more and better flour. It is singularly exempt 
from insects and diseases. 

No. 3. Wheatland Yellow. — Chaff a pale yellow, short 
beards, heads very large, and the grains very large. The 
usual objection to bearded wheat would not hold in this 
variety, as the beards are very short, almost no beards a 
all. It is a hardy wheat, yields well, and the flour from it 
is good. 

CLA.SS 5. — RED SMOOTH-HEAD. 

No. 1. Walher. — This variety, nearly amber, is very ex- 
tensively raised in East Tennessee, and to some extent 
through the State. It is a medium wheat, but quite early, 
hence escaping to a great extent the great dread of wheat- 
growers, rust. There seems to be some discrepancy among 
my correspondents with regard to this wheat, some classing 
it as an amber. But the large majority calling it a red. It 
may be supposed there are two varieties called Walker. It 
yields a fair quantity, and is suited to rich land. 

No, 2. Fultz. — This is a new variety, unless, as Mr. All- 
man says, it is nothing but the Walker. But the history of 
this wheat is too new, and too well authenticated to be dis- 
puted, and then it may be supposed that while all varieties 
of wheat descend from the same parents, it is not unreason- 



56 WHEAT CULTUEE 

able to find two kinds so nearly resembling each other as not 
to be easily separated. In a previous page, the manner of 
the discovery and the dissemination of this variety Vi'as re- 
lated. It has proved to be all that was represented so far. 
Still it requires several years before it can gain complete 
confidence. Hitherto it has not come into the liands of the 
miller to any great extent, all being reserved for seed, but 
it is their province now to pass on it. It gave complete sat- 
isfaction to the farmer until 1877, when it was seriously af- 
fected by rust. It grows well on thin soils, and the yield is 
generally large. Many planters have secured this year from 
25 to 40 bushels per acre. With Boughton, Amber and 
Fultz, it seems nothing is left the farmer to desire in the 
way of seeds. Still it will be years before all can be con- 
vinced of this fact. 

3. Red May. — This is a most excellent variety, but varies 
very much in yield. On the alluvial bottoms it will give 
20 to 25 bushels, while on rich up lands 10 to 12 bushels 
per acre is considered a good yield. It has a short head;, 
short straw, small berry. One prime quality is that by the 
4th of June in the midland counties it can be harvested. 
Some years, in dry weather, it will come in the middle of 
May. It is not much liable to any of the diseases to which 
wheat is heir. It is a very certain crop, though not the 
heaviest. It does not tiller well, and hence must be sown 
thicker than the usual kinds. One and a half bushels are 
are not too much on average land. It is better not to sow 
it on poor land, as it will not do well. It originated in 
Virginia. It was a favorite among tlie Shakers for many 
years, and is one of the wheats to which their name was at- 
tached. 

4. Little Red May. — A variety of No. 3, only it was 
brought into Tennessee by Joseph Jacobs from Missouri, no 
doubt having been taken there from Kentucky or Virginicr. 
It had, however, improved by its visit, and is a very pro- 
lific, and in some sections a very popular variety. 



IN TENNESSEE. 57 

5. Red Chaff, — This is one of the oldest and was one of 
the most substantial varieties we had. The straw is long 
and stands up well ; chaif slightly brown. It makes a 
beautiful flour, very white. The great objection to it is its 
lateness in ripening, and consequently its liability to rust 
and other diseases. It is by many thought to be the same 
with ''Golden Chaff" and no doubt it is, though it differs 
in some respects, from difference in locality. It has been 
superseded by more desirable varieties. 

CLASS 6 — EED BEAEDED HEADS. 

No. 1. Tucker, mentioned by one of our correspondents, 
but the name certainly being local, we are not able to define 
its character or history. 

2. Andrews' Bed is a medium high straw, good grain, 
early to ripen, and yields well. It is said to have been 
originated by a Mr. Andrews, of Williamson county, and 
has a good local character. We are inclined to think it is 
the same called in East Tennessee, Quaker. At least it re- 
sembles it very much. It is such a common thing for 
wheat to receive the name of its introducer that it is a diffi- 
cult matter always clearly to define the several characters 
claimed for it. 

3. " 3Iediterranean Cuba.'' — We are at no loss however 
in placing this correctly, as it has been cultivated a great 
many years, and has during all that time maintained its 
reputation as one of the surest and best wheats we have. 
It is a flint, has a large, long, heavy grain, very thick skin, 
and makes a yellowish flour that is rather yellow, but the 
dough rises exceedingly well. The mills South are not 
prepared properly to make first-class flour of the Mediter- 
ranean or flint wheat, but will no doubt soon prepare them- 
selves, if a sufiicient inducement is held out to them by the 
cultivation of spring wheats, which are all bearded flints- 
In fact this variety has in some localities been converted into 
a spring wheat by cultivation. The new process of grind- 



58 WHEAT CULTURE 

ing is by granulation, the husk being first stripped from 
the grain, and the kernel then cracked and afterwards 
pounded into the rounded granulated flour. By this pro- 
cess more and better flour can be made of the flint wheats 
than of winter wheats. While the Mediterranean is ground 
as other wheats so much of the husks containing 
a large quantity of gluten and silica goes into the flour that 
they give it a yellow hue, and so it cannot be passed as 
more than middling. There is no doubt that by change of 
locality and cultivation the dark red of its grain is lost, and 
it has changed into the white Mediterranean. A gentleman 
in Williamson county whose land is creek bottom — a black 
alluvium — had been cultivating this variety several years, 
and it was almost amber in color. He sold some seed to a 
gentleman in Rutherford county, and the latter sowed it for 
a succession of years on cedar land, a mulatto soil. They 
met at a mill with the same wheat after several years sow- 
ings, and the mulatto land wheat had regained its natural 
dark red color, and could not have been recognized as hav- 
ing sprung from the other. 

This wheat has no significance whatever in its name. In 
fact it is of Danish or Norwegian origin, from whence it 
was introduced into Holland, and from the latter kingdom 
into the United States under the name of German wheat. 
In a short time it was known as the "German fly proof 
wheat," and then by the singular and indefinite cognomen 
of " Fly proof wheat," and lastly it is now universally 
known as the Mediterranean. The following from one of 
the old volumes of the "American Agriculturist," furnishes 
the history of its introduction in the United States: " Sev- 
eral years ago, about 1819, an American gentleman who was 
traveling in Holland, was asked why, with our fine climate 
and soil, we so often failed in having good wheat crops. 
He replied it was doubtless in a great measure attributable 
to an insect which it was supposed was introduced into into 
the United States in the wheat sent from Holland during 



IN TENNESSEE. 59 

the Revolutionary war for the subsistence of the British 
arnay, which was known in this country as the Hessian fly. 
The Hessians admitted that some kinds of wheat in that 
country were liable to injury by insects, but that there was 
a species in very general use that resisted their attacks. 
The American gentleman was presented with some of this 
wheat, which he brought into this country and sowed on 
his farm in Delaware. It was subsequently introduced 
into Virginia by James H.Taliaferro, Esq., and its ability to 
resist the attacks of the fly successfully tested. 

"A gentleman who was supplied by us with a part of the 
lot received from Virginia, informs us that there has been 
great improvement in the appearance of the grain since its 
introduction on his farm." — American Agriculturist. 

One quality which tliis variety possesses in an eminent 
degree, is its capacity for resisting jxAsturing. Many 
farmers sow it for the purpose of wintering stock as a sub- 
stitute for rye, and taking off the stock about the 1st of 
April, make a good crop of wheat. It is from the want of 
proper machinery for grinding that it is has lost ground as 
a wheat, but it can confidently be predicted it will yet re- 
cover its wonted popularity, and be as extensively raised as 
in former years. 

4. TreadwelL — We have not been able to trace the culti- 
vation of this wheat out of Middle Tennessee. It is not 
properly speaking a bearded or a smooth head. In fact it 
is both. A Mr. Treadwell found two kinds of wheat 
growing together, most probably mixed by a thresher, and 
the grains being exactly alike and ripening at the same 
time, and yielding very handsomely, he started the variety, 
gave it his name, and hence the Treadwell. It is medium 
as to time of ripening, has a good stiff straw, and is very 
prolific. 



60 WHEAT CULTUEE 



CHAPTER IX. 

CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION OF WHEATS CONTINUED. 

Family 2 — Spring Wheats. — So far as Tennessee is con- 
cerned, Spring wheats may be considered a nullity. In the 
whole State, but one county, Marion, reports the cultivation 
of any. As before stated the mills of the country are not 
prepared to grind spring or flint wheats, and besides, they 
have been tried and found not to succeed well. They are 
well suited to the inhospitable climate of Canada and North- 
ern United States, but here the winter wheat is rarely killed 
out, and the growth of our vegetation is so rapid in the 
spring, that it all goes to straw. It is only a dernier resort 
that will justify anyone to venture on its cultivation. There 
isj in the Central Basin, one men, a renter, who sows it 
simply because he changes his home very often, and cannot 
sow the winter varieties. He says he has made as much as 
10 bushels per acre. Still, as we set out to give all we know 
about wheat, we will enumerate all that have been tried. 
But the simple enumeration is all, for one word covers them 
all, with the single exception mentioned, of Marion county, 
and this word is failure. Our correspondent from Jasper 
gives the names of three or four wheats with which we have 
no acquaintance, and we suppose them to be spring wheats, 
at least we shall give them in the list, and if we are in 
error, this explanation will give the reason. 

CLASS 1. 
No. 1. Spring Bearded. 

" 2. Harris, \ ^r ■ , 

u -^ r\ ^ f Marion county. 

" 3. Orleans, J *' 

" 4. China. 

" 5. Tea. 



IN TENNESSEE. 61 

No. 6. Canada Club. 

" 7. Italian. 

" 8. Stock. 

" 9. Talavera, without beard. 

" 10. Eed bearded. 

" 11. Spring Club, extra fine. 
It is often the case that a late sown crop, say put in from 
1st to to 25th December, shows no signs of coming up until 
spring, and then it will make a good crop, better often than 
the early sown wheat. This is in effect spring wheat. But 
we know how seldom this late sowing will prove profitable. 
But, then, all kinds occasionally fail, however careful we 
may be in the selection of seed in the time of sowing, and 
in the preparation of the land, and there is no explanation 
for it, except that it was not a good year for wheat. The 
Northern farmers can make spring wheat of any winter 
wheat, by allowing it to slightly germinate in the fall, and 
then allow it to freeze and remain frozen until spring, and 
then sow. It is on this principle our late sown wheats 
sometimes succeed. 

The cooler the weather in which wheat ripens, the heavier 
the grain, and it might be that if wheat was sown as late as 
millet is, .we might get, after a while, some seed that would 
ripen in September. If millet is sown early, the straw is 
yellow, scant and spindling. If, however, it is sown in the 
latter part of June to the middle of July, it will be deep 
green, rank, coarse and luxuriant. Why should not wheat 
do the same way, sown say in May ? We know that oats 
will do it. Wheat is being experimented on in this man- 
ner in some of the Northern States. It is possible that 
should it be so rank, it would, as usual, suffer with rust, 
but it could be treated according to the German method, 
with lime and cow urine. The latter is made into a paste 
with lime, and the seed wheat is rolled in it until it is thor- 
oughly saturated, and then sown. This has never, in our 
knowledge, been tried, but it is frequently done in the Ger- 



62 WHEAT CULTURE 

man States. It would at least be a fine stimulant to its 
growth. 

This completes the list of Tennessee wheat, with the ex- 
ception of those unkno\vn to the writer, but mentioned by 
some of our correspondents, and if they are favorites we 
would be pleased to hear from some one on the subject. 
Such are "Tubman," "Moore" and "Phelps." 

These are enough, and as good a variety to select from 
as the list of any other State. Tennessee, from the favora- 
ble latitude, arid the great diversity of her soils, presents as 
many favorable advantages to the wheat-grower as any 
other State in the Cniuu, and the only reason why she has 
uot made more wheat, is because our people have got in the 
habit of cultivating large crops of corn, cotton and tobacco. 
It is an exceedingly difficult matter to shake off the shackles 
of habit. But the continued impoverishment of our lands, 
the uncertain character of our labor and its cost, will grad- 
ually bring us to our senses. It is no easy matter 'to break 
up old customs and practises, and revolutions are not the 
offspring of a day. It has to be a gradual process. The 
people must be convinced it is to their interest, as it cer- 
tainly is. Mills will gradually accumulate, and instead of 
sending our wheat to the North to be converted into flour, 
and then returned and sold to us, it will be ground at home. 
It is a suicidal policy not to build mills, grind our wheat, 
and then, after supplying our own wants, export the surplus 
flour. 

To select good seed and to improve the varieties, it is 
best to gather a few good heads that combine the greatest 
number of desirable qualities, as regards grain, flour, length 
and shape of ear, quality and stiffness of stnxw, hardihood 
and liability to disease, cultivating from these alone. 

The average in England per acre is 30 bushels. In ^he 
United States about 12, while in Tennessee, from our re- 
ports, we are obliged to put up with eight. In England 50 



IN TENNESSEE. 03 

bushels per acre are as common as 25 bushels here. Cli- 
mate may have something to do with this great difference 
in yield, but cultivation more. The idea of exhausting 
soils by cultivation there, is scouted as absurd ; the soil on 
fiirms constantly under cultivation, increasing constantly in 
fertility. 

When the farmer deems it necessary to change his seed, 
it will be a good idea to import it from the North. The 
reason of this, as before stated, is obvious; the North being 
colder, requires a longer time to mature the wheat than it 
does here, consequently w^heat brought here will mature 
earlier than there. In like manner, it being warmer in the 
South, wheat matures earlier, and when brought here docs 
not succeed well, being after one or at most two trials aban- 
doned. For this reason many of the wheats distributed by 
the Agricultural Bureau do not succeed well, only in par- 
ticular localities. It is highly probable that if wheat could 
be imported here from Turkey or from the northern shores 
of the Mediterranean, it would succeed at once, as the 
latitude is near the same, and the Isothermal line is precise- 
ly the same with Tennessee, and not only these localities 
agree with our State, but Japan and the southern slope of 
the Himalaya Mountains, the birth-place of man and nearly 
all vegetation necessary to man's sustenance. If Tennessee 
occupies geographically and geodetically such a favorable 
situation as a wheat-producing State, why has she not al- 
ready taken her proper stand as a producer? The causes of 
this have been stated, and also the influences that are at work, 
silently but surely, to propel her into her natural birthright. 

It is very extraordinary that some varieties have a pre- 
disposition to sprout, or alter their appearance. In confirm 
mation of this, and also to show the great importance of 
carefully selecting pure seed and how it pays, we beg leave 
to present the following account of an experiment from the 
M^ork of Prof. LeCouteur, a celebrated English writer and 
farmer : 



64 WHEAT CULTURE 

"But it had escaped him to consider it in its properties with relation to 
the food of man. This practical view the author took of it, and deter- 
mined to attempt to discover which were the most farinaceous and 
most productive varieties, by comparing their characters and produce 
one with another. The usual mode with the generality of farmers is to 
procure any seed that any neighbor enjoying the reputation of being a 
good farmer may have to sell. A more intelligent class procure their 
seed from a distance, and require that it be fine, perhaps even pure; they 
also have thought of changing or renewing their ?eed occasionally. 
A still more intelligent number have procured the best seed they 
could obtain of those sorts which observation and experience have 
led them to know as being best suited to their soil and climate ; having 
further observed that mixtures in their crops prevented their ripening at 
the same moment, and having endeavored to remedy this defect, by mak- 
ing selections of seed, by hand, cf those varieties which appeared to them 
similar, and thus have greatly improved their crops in produce and qual- 
ity. A few farmers have proceeded a step farther, and from having ob- 
served a stray ear of apparently unusual prolific habits, have judiciously 
set it apart, and have raised a stalk from it. Hence the Hedge wheat, 
Hunter's, Hickling's, and twenty more that might be named; but it is con- 
tended that it is not sufficient merely to have grov- n them pure for a short 
time; it is necessary to keep them permanently. So, if after a compara- 
tive examination as to their relative production, grain and meal, they shall 
prove to be the best, or otherwise to discard them for more valuable vari- 
eties. This was the chief consideration which led me to make compara- 
tive experiments in order to obtain the best seed. Hence, as a first step to- 
wards improvement. Professor LaGasca, having shown me four ears of 
those he considered the best and most productive, I sorted as many as I 
could collect, of precisely the same varieties, judging from their external 
appearance. Such was my anxiety to attempt to raise a pure crop, that 
in the month of November I rubbed the grains from each ear of all the four 
sorts I had selected, throwing aside the damaged or ill-looking, and reser- 
ving only the plump and healthy." 

"The first selection was apparently one of the Dantzic sort, white and 
smooth-eared. In the process of rubbing I was surprised to find that, 
though most of the grains were white, they differed greatly as lo form, 
some being round, some oval and peaked, some plump, but very small, 
some more elongated, some with the skin or bran much thicker than others. 
There were also many liver- colored, yellow and dark grains among the 
white. 

The second sort was from a square, compact variety of wheat, the berry 
plump, round, of a cofTee-like form, very thin-skinned and white. Th^re 
was a pale red inferior kind among it, much thicker skinned, but without 
any perceptible inferior external appearance in the ear. 



IN TENNESSEE. 65 

The third was a downy or hairy variety, one of the "Velantes" of the 
and "Triticum Coeleri" of Prof. LaGasca, a velvety or hoary sort, which ig 
supposed to be very permanen duration, as relates to keeping pure. 

I found, however, that there were a few red grains, some yellow and some 
liver-colored sorts among this, in small proportions, it is true, but being of 
prolific habit, subsequent experience has taught that they would soon have 
destroyed the purity of the crop, if cultivated without constant at ention. 

The fourth selection was from a variety of red ear, with yellow grains, 
more peaked than the "Golden Drop". These were all plump and well 
grown, but though of productive habits, afford less flour and more bran 
than the white wheat varieties. I discovered a red variety among it bear- 
ing white grains, which I suspect to be very prolific and hardy. I gave a 
sample of this to Sir John Sinclair, who greatly encouraged me to prose- 
cute my researches, as being of the highest importance. 

There were also red ears bearing 'liver-colored grains, but these were 
chiefly lean and ill-grown. I generally, but not invariably, found that the 
grain of white wheat was the plumpest, or possessing the greatest specific 
graviiy, or largest quantity of flour. 

The aspect of the grain in that dry season led me to think that white 
kinds of wheat will succeed best on dry soils and warm climates, and that 
red and yellow, or the darker colored, for wet seasons or moist soils. The 
care I took in making these selections, and the great number of sorts I 
found of all shades and colors, forming su')- varieties, as they are named by 
Prof. LaGasca, confirmed my conviction that the only chance of having 
pure sorts was to raise them from single grains, or at least from single ears. 
It is but fair to add that even the pains I took in making those first selec- 
tions amply rewarded my labors, as the products of my crops were in- 
creased from an average of 23 or 25 bushels an acre, to 34 bushels. And 
since I have raided wheat from single ears carefully selected sorts, I have 
increased my crops to 40 and 50 bushels per acre. Hence I have no doubts- 
that with extreme care in obtaining the best and most suitable sorts, that 
land in high tilth with fine cultivation, may be made to produce &) or 70 
bushels per acre." 

One more species of wheat will close our chapters. Nor 
can it be properly called wheat, as it is used for stock. It is 
the ^'Cauaile" or "Indian wheat." I give an account from 
the "Country Gentleman." "This gi^ain was introduced 
into the United States from Canada about twenty-three 
years ago, I think ; since when it has been constantly culti- 
vated by some of our farmers, and now nearly all our farm- 
ers raise it, although a lew, after trying it a year or two, 
discontinued it, some because they thought it would over- 



66 WHEAT CULTURE 

run their whole farm, and some because the "women" could 
not use it, neither of which I consider valid objections. It 
will live in the ground over winter, so that it may be sown 
at any time, from the harvesting of one crop to the gather- 
ing of the next, but we usually sow it after all the other 
crops are in, and harvest it before it is so ripe that it will 
shell off from the straw, it being necessary to cut it while the 
dew is on. Our farmers often keep the same piece of land 
in it for several years in succession, and it seems to do as 
well so. If the soil is too rich, it "runs to straw" too 
much. The average crop is from 45 to 50 bushels per acre, 
about the same as oats, although it often produces from 75 
to 110 bushels per acre on our soil. The average weight is 
48 lbs per bushel, and IQ to 18 lbs. superfine flour per 
bushel. The "Canaile" I think worth more per pound than 
oats as feed for stock ; it is quite bitter, and seems to act as 
a tonic and sharpens the appetite very much. I think this 
grain worth fully one quarter more than oats for horses, 
possessing to a good degree the property of corn that makes 
fat, and that of oats that produces muscle." 



IN TENNESSEE. 



67 



CHAPTER X. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE INTERIOR STRUCTURE OF TBE 
WHEAT GRAIN — ANALYSIS OF THE WHEAT GRATf^ — 
THEORY OP FERTILIZING. 

We deem it proper here to give a few instances of the 
analysis of wheat and wheat-straw, so that the farmer will 
be able to see for himself, the elements necessary for s«c- 

FlG. 1 — MAGNIFIED SECTION OF A WHEAT GRAIN. 




68 WHEAT CULTURE 

cessful growth of wheat. The subject of analysing wheat 
has, next to that of discovering the philosopher's stone, by 
which all things could be transmuted into gold, perhaps, 
engaged the attention of chemists beyond any other. That 
it can be .easily done, is attested by the analyses that appear 
in almost every number of an agricultural journal. There 
are two great principles in grains of wheat, the '"meal" and 
the "bran," which are subdivided according to their chem- 
ical constituents. Starch and gluten form the valuable con- 
stituents, and as the relative quantities of these vary, so does 
the value of the wheat. If you will cut across a wheat 
grain you have a view of the constituents of wheat. Sup- 
pose we make a section of a grain of Wheat vertically and 
magnify it as in our cut, fig. 1, we shall then have a correct 
view of the mahc-up of a grain. We observe at the upper 
end the beard, which consists of very fine hair tubes. 
These vary in color from a dirty white to a brown. These 
capillary tubes are possibly intended to place the interior of 
the grain, during its developments, in communication with 
the atmosphere, and hence the nature of the beard is such 
that, when the grain is taken from the ear, and freely ex- 
posed to the air, the beard soon becomes thickly coated with 
minute particles of dust and dirt. If this dust is not re- 
moved from the grain, the quality of the product will be 
impaired considerably, and an inferior appearance will be 
given to the flour. Referring again to fig. 1, it will be 
noticed that at the lower end of the grain there is situated 
the germ or embryo. The inner part of the germ will be 
readily distinguished from the other portions of the grain 
being a hard, yellow, gristly, oily substance, of disagreeable 
flavor. This portion cannot be easily stripped off the grain 
while the latter is in a dry condition, and like the teard, 
being harder than the kernel, it grinds under the stones 
into very small particles, which not only give a dull, dark 
shade to the flour, but are also very injurious to the quality 
of the latter, being indigestible. By a somewhat closer ex- 



IN TENNESSEE. 69 

araination of the body of the grain we shall discover a num- 
ber of hulls and skins, enveloping the kernel. 

The first of these, or outer hull, " epidermis" marked 1, 
in fig. 1, appears rough, wrinkled and colorless, while it 
shows no cells, and being partially disengaged, can be easily 
stripped off. The second hull, " epicarpmm,'" marked 2, 
although smoother, is similar in its character to the "ejnder- 
mis," and like the latter, envelopes the grain loosely, so that 
it, too, can be readily removed. The third hull, "'sarcocar- 
piuin," marked 3, is also smooth, but shows cells of a yel- 
loAV color ; while the fourth hull, '' endoGarpium," marked 4, 
is of a similar nature to the " sarcocarpium." The third 
and fourth hulls adhere to the grain more closely than the 
first and second, and their separation is not so easily effect- 
ed. The combined weight of these sluggish hulls men- 
tioned, is about three per cent, of the entire weight of the 
grain, and they possess no nutritive value whatever. The 
four hulls we have enumerated form the bran proper, and 
they are followed by the 5th skin, or testa, which is more or 
less of an orange-yellow color in the different kinds of 
wheat, and which has a cellular structure, as shown. The 
testa adheres to the kernal very closely, and it is succeeded 
by another very thin and colorless skin indicated in our 
figure. This skin being also very closely united to that 
which follows, so that the two can only be separated with 
diflSculty. 

The most important, however, of all the skins is the last, 
marked 6, in the figure, the embryo membrane. This em- 
bryo membrane is quite colorless, has a cellular texture, 
and contains a very high percentage of phosphoric acid and 
gluten. It extends from the embryo or germ, to the other 
end of the grain, and forms an envelope which is imper- 
meable by water. Thus, if a grain of wheat be immersed 
in water, the five outer invelopes will be penetrated in a few 
hours, while the embryo membrane will resist further per- 
meation, and the kernel may be found dry and brittle after 



70^ WHEAT CULTURE 

several hours' immersion. Even if the outer hulls or skins 
be removed, the embryo membrane still retains its power of 
resisting the entrance of water or moisture. The only point 
at which the water can gain access to the kernel, and then 
only after long immersion, being at the embryo, where the 
embryo membrane does not protect it, as shown in figure 1. 
In the event, however, of the embryo membrane being 
damaged, partly removed, or even scratched, the water will 
gain immediate access to the kernel, and the latter will be 
penetrated instantly. 

According to Mege Mouries, the embryo membrane plays 
a most important part in the process of germination and 
alimentation, for it belongs to that class of organic sub- 
stances possessing a kind of life, and it is thus capable of 
such action and conversion in the bodies with which it is 
brought in contact, as is necessary for the development 
of the plant. The farinaceous matter of the kernel, 
which comes into immediate contact with the embryo 
membrane, is soniewhat hard and brittle, and although 
not perfectly white, it is most nutritious, and would make 
bread of the highest quality if it could be separated from the 
bran : being, however, as we have said, hard and brittle, it 
breaks up under the stones with the husks, and thus not 
only gives a dark appearance to the flour, but reduces its 
<piality by causing it to be largely intermingled v/ith bran, 
besides the quantities of dust and dirt which are mingled 
with all grain. 

Further, the close connection with the farinaceous 
layer, with the envelopes, is the reason that it 
forms part of the bran to a considerable extent. That part 
of the farinaceous matter beneath this, is neither so 
hard nor so nutritious, but it yields a white flour, 
as it is not so largely mixed with particles of the 
bran. The interior or centre of the grain is softer thai> 
the parts around it, and it is the least nutritious, yet it yields 
the finest and purest quality of flour for the reason stated. 



IN TENNESSEE. 71 

which will explain itself in a different grinding system 
to that practiced in this country. If it were possible to 
effect a complete separation of the farinaceous matter from 
the envelopes which surround them, it would be found that 
they amounted to 90 or 92 per cent, of the entire weight of 
the grain, the other matters, or bran, forming 8 to 10 per 
cent, of that weight; in ordinary practice, however, the 
bran amounts from 20 to 25 per cent, while the flour is 
about from 75 to 80 per cent., and is, moreover, of a much 
lower quality than it would be if a perfect separation could 
be effected. Hence, it follows that ordinary bran contains 
at least 10 per cent, of the most nutritious farinaceous 
matter, a fact which is due, in a great measure, to the bran 
being largely mixed Avith the layer of farinaceous matter? 
which cannot be separated from it by ordinary methods. 
The gluten is present in a higher proportion in the bran 
than in fine floar, and from this, it might appear that 
wheat having thick hulls, or affording a high percentage 
of bran, woukl possess a high nutritive value as food for 
man, as its muscle-forming power is determined principally 
by the amount of gluten which it contains. 

In 1658 an ordinance of Louis XIV, of France, prohib- 
ited, under heavy penalties, the grinding of bran a second 
time. Moreover, until quite recently, it was very generally 
supposed that Lread made of the whole meal was more 
wholesome than that made of the flour ; but Moleschott has 
shown in his pWsiology that mixing the bran with the 
flour is a mistake, as, although bran is richer in nutritive 
matters, yet that a man cannot digest the thick cells of the 
hulls unless he possesses unusually strong digestive powers, 
and leads an activ'^e life. On the other hand, moreover, the 
mucus membrane of the digestive organs become greatly 
irritated by the bran, and thus undesirable results attend an 
abundant supply )f substances which, although nutritious, 
are digested with lifficulty. 

We have caused these constituencies to be engraved in 



72 



WHEAT CULTURE 



a more highly magnified manner, so as to show the parts 
plainly, and also to exhibit in a more marked degree the 
importance of the new method of "decorticating'^ the grain 



before grinding. 



Fig. 2 — section of wheat grain highly magnified. 



e, cellular tissue of albumen e 
and starch me a . 




/, grains of starch 



Figure 2 gives a part of a section of a ^rain of wheat. 
In this the different hulls are plainly visible, c being the 
embryo membrane that is albumen, it bein^ waterproof, and 
the protector of the gluten and starch cells^ d is the gluten 
cells, and e/ are the starch cells, with her^ and there a few 
gluten cells sticking to them. It will be observed that the 
cells of starch are hexagonal, and contain inany ovoid glob- 
ules of starch each. In the new milling process these cells 



IN TENNESSEE. 



73 



are simply broken and the globules crumbled out retaining 
their shape. 

From the wheat grain we obtain from chemical analysis : 





Wheat. 


Flour. 


Bran. 


Water 


14.83 

19.64/ 
0.95^ 

45.99 
1.52 
1.20 
0.87 

12.34 


13.04 

73.20 
4.20 
5.6 
2.1 




Gluten 




Albunien 


20.0 


Starch 

Gum 

Sugar 


28.8 


Gil 


5.5 


Vegftable Fibrfi 


45.7 







These substances may be still further resolved until we 
arrive at the approximate organic elements which enters 
into their composition. 





Gliiten . 


Albumeu 


Starch. 


Gum. 

42.68 
6.38 

50.94 


Sugar 


Veg'ble 
Fibre. 


Carbon 


53.27 


.74 

7.11 

15.66 

23.62 


42.80 

6.35 

50.85 

23.50 


36.1 

7.0 

56.9 


53.23 


Hydrogen 


7.17 
15.94 


7.01 


Nitrogen 




Oxygen ) 


16.41 


Sulphur >• 

Phospboras ) 


23.35 



The oil for the greater part consists of carbon. The glu- 
ten and starch is found to vary very considerably in differ- 
ent kinds of wheat, as well as in wheat grown in different 
climates. If 100 pounds of wheat are burned, one or two 
pounds of ashes are left, which give the following analysis ; 

Potash 29.97 per cent. 

Soda 3.90 

Magnesia 12.30 

Lime 3.40 

Phosphoric acid 46.00 " 

Sulphuric acid 0.33 " 

Silica 3.35 

Per Oxide of Iron 0.79 " 

Chloride of Sodium, or salt 0.09 " 

From this it will be seen that wheat is richest in phos- 
phoric acid, magnesia and potash. Wheat, as I before 



74 WHEAT CULTURE 

stated, is valuable in proportion to the amount of gluten it 
contains. In some varieties it is more tough and fibrous 
than in others. A very simple method to determine this is 
to make a paste of a small quantity in your hand, pull it 
out and its toughness will determine the length of the 
thread if forms, and the value of the flour. 

Anyone may, in a small but correct manner, analyze 
wheat flour in a very simple way. Make a stiff dough of a 
given quantity of flour, put it in a linen bag, and let the 
linen be thick. Then knead it in water until the fluid that 
runs out ceases to have a milky appearance. Let the water 
settle and you will have the starch of the flour. The glu- 
ten remains in the bag, as water only swells it, but without 
dissolving. Let the water stand, and a white sediment will 
settle to the bottom. This is the starch, the principle in- 
gredient of flour, and of all meals. Separate the water 
from the starch and boil it, and it becomes turbid and floc- 
culent. This is vegetable albumen. Separate this from the 
water by filtering, and boil the water remaining until it 
becomes a thick syrup, and then add alcohol. The alcohol 
will take up the sugar, but not the gum. Filter the alcohol 
and the gum remains. Evaporate the alcohol and you have 
the sugar. Of course these are not chemically pure, as the 
saline matters remain. Let us go back to the bag that con- 
tains the mass. Here are the vegetable fibre and the gluten. 
Gluten is vegetable fibrine, and corresponds to the fibrine or 
muscle of animals. It is also seen in the clot of blood, 
while albumen being the serum or watery part of blood. Thus 
we have in this little grain all the elements of nutrition, 
fibrine or muscle-food, starch and albumen, fat or heat- 
makers, cellulose, same as starch chemically, but insoluble 
only by digestive fluids. It is this cellulose that envelopes 
the starch germ, etc., and is also called vegetable wool. It 
is the pith of wood, the fibre of cotton, hemp, flax, etc. 

As to the theory of ertilizing wheat, we may say that 
the wheat plant contains, as before stated, carbon, hydro- 



IN TENNESSEE. 75 

gen, potash, soda, lime, phosphoric acid and other substan- 
ces. These constituents are derived from the food upon 
Avhich the plant feeds, for plants feed as well as animals. 
They both eat and drink. Knowing the composition of a 
given plant, we can partially determine the kind of food it 
needs. If potash, for example, is a characteristic constitu- 
ent, it is plain that in some way the plant must have access 
to potash. So will lime, phosphoric acid and the others. 
If the plant cannot fine these or any one of them in the 
soil it will not thrive or bear fruit. The absent substance 
or substances be supplied, and this is what is meant by fer- 
tilizing. 

In the wheat plant there is a volitile part that burns away; 
that is to say, a part converted by burning into invisible 
gasses, which pass into the air and disappear. These gases 
are combined acid and watery vapor mainly, with sometimes 
ammonia and certain compounds of sulphur and phosphor- 
ous. The elements comprising these gasses and existing 
originally, are carbon, oxygen; hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, 
phosphorus. 

Again, there is a fixed part remaining as ashes. In wheat 
this part is from four to four and a half per cent, of the 
whole. The ashes of this plant, taking the mean in round 
numbers, of many analyses are constituted in pounds, as 
follows : 

Potash 16 pouDds 

Soda 3 " 

Magnesia 5 " 

Lime 5 " 

Oxide of iron f " 

Phosphoric acid 16 " 

Sulphuric acid 1| " 

Silica , 52 " 

Chlorine ^ " 

Total 100 

It may be presented in another form. Take a stack of 
wheat straw, chaff and grain weighing 1,384 pounds, burn 



76 WHEAT CULTURE 

it, and there will remain only 57 J pounds of ashes, contain- 
ing the following constituents : 

Potash 9 pounds. 

Soda If 

Magnesia 3 " 

Lime ' 3 

Pliosplioric acid 9 " 

Sulphuric acid 1 " 

Oxide of iron § " 

Silica 30" " 

Chlorine J 

Total 57J 

By far the most important ingredients in the list are 
potash, magnesia, lime, phosphoric acid and sulphuric 
acid. 

Generally it may be said that the volitile constituents are 
mainly derived from the air and the fixed from the soil. 
The former supplies an abundance of carbon food and of 
oxygen. It also supplies some nitrogenous food, amimonia, 
nitric acid, etc. The soil supplies, or ought to supply, 
nearly all the other constituents of the plant. In the ag- 
gregate, all these may be called soil food. Soil food differs 
from air food in being made up of a greater variety of in- 
gredients, while in weight, excluding water, it is far less. 
The air is a constant invariable quantity, and always pre- 
sents an abundant supply in food peculiar to it. In the 
consideration of fertilizers, therefore, the air food may be 
eliminated. The soil is an inconstant quantity, and is very 
variable. It may or may not contain the ingredients neces- 
sary to the full development of plant life. To supply these 
is one the chief duties of a successful farmer. 

The following is an analysis of a very fertile soil. In 
the second column the quantities of most of the substances 
are given, which are necessary to produce 30 bushels of 
wheat. It ought to be remarked that most of the silica is 
used in the production of straw. The soil is, from an acre 
to the depth of one foot. 



IN TENNESEEE. 77 

Soluble Silica 81,900 pounds —pounds 

Lime 143,220 " 9 

PotMsh 35,910 " 27 

Soda..; 68,920 " 5 " 

Ammonia with nitrogen 2,100 " 49 " 

Phosphoric acid 16,310 " 27 

Sulphuric acid 31,360 " 3 " 

Nitric acid ? ? 

This soil ought to produce very mauy successive crops of 
wheat. Should one ingredient be absent, the wheat crop 
would be sickly, and in all probability not pay the cost of 
production. 

Soils are most frequently deficient in potash, phosphoric 
acid and soluble compound of nitrogen. Bones, ashes, 
guano, animal excrement, blood, gelatine, oil of vitriol, slilt- 
petre, and many other substances scattered over the soil 
supply these constituent elements, and so increase the yield 
of crops. But this yield will largely depend upon the 
physical condition of the soil. It should be thoroughly pul- 
verized in order that the roots of the plant may extend their 
pasture grounds, so to speak, and fatten upon those numer- 
ous ingredients Avhich its nature may require. A poor crop 
may be grown upon a very fertile soil, as we witness every 
day, and with proper tillage a good crop may be grown upon 
a comparatively poor soil. A proper stirring of the earth, 
and plenty of moisture, are by far the most potent fertili- 
zers, for without these no other fertilizer will be worth 
anything. 



WHEAT CULTUEE 



CHAPTER XI. 

GERMINATION OF WHEAT — WHEAT FROM EGYPTIAN 
TOMES — EXPERIMENTS WITH SEEDS BY THE BRITISH 
ASSOCIATION — PROCESS OF GERMINATION AND HOW THE 
WHEAT PLANT GROWS — TILLERING, ETC. 

All seeds kept in a certain state of dryness and darkness 
will remain sound. No change will take place apparently 
in their condition, being an inert body. In this condi- 
tion they are capable of being transported to any distance 
and preserved for years, almost indefinitely under proper 
conditions. But suppose we apply a certain amount of 
light, heat, moisture and air, what takes place? ^\^ere 
it not that this is an every day experience, out wonder 
w^ould never cease at the miraculous change that ensues. 
By the action of that incomprehensible, subtle principle 
called vitality, germination begins. Bat in order to be 
started all four of these conditions are necessary. If wheat 
has air, moisture and light but does not have sufficient 
warmth, no gei mi nation takes place. Nor is it necessary 
that it should be absolutely frozen, the simple absence of all 
warmth is sufficient. Water freezes at 32 degrees Fah., 
and the force exerted by this action of nature is ample to 
break water vessels, etc. This force is utilized by rock 
masons to quarry rock, and a cannon filled with water and 
left to freeze would be rent as would a bottle. Mercury 
congeals at minus 40°, so that it requires 72° more of cold to 
freeze mercury than it does water. Such a degree of cold 
is known in this country only experimentally. It would 
soon depopulate the whole of America, as the human sys- 
tem could not long endure it. But as small and insignifi- 
cant as a grain of wheat is, it is able to withstand it and yet 



IN TENNESSEE. 79 

live. An artificial cold of minus 58°, or 90° below the freez- 
ing point is necessary to destroy its power of germination. 

But it cannot so successfully withstand the influence of 
heat, as water raised to the temperature of 122°, 24° more 
than our natural heat, will, in fifteen or twenty minutes, 
kill wheat. But this is not the case with all vegetations, 
as in the hot springs of various countries, some higher than 
boiling water, various low kinds of vegetables grow and re- 
produce themselves But to destroy wheat, it must be 
moist, as it will endure a heat as high as 170° if it is dry. 
All vegetation requires a certain degree of warmth to germi- 
nate ; generally 60° or 70° are required — always somewhere 
between 32° and 100°. 

The peculiar sensitiveness of wheat to warmth may ex- 
plain why it is that wheat does not succeed well . in the 
Torrid zone. If wheat has once been incited to germinate 
and then dried, it can never start the second time. It is 
therefore important to keep seed dry, for without moisture 
it is safe. And not only must wheat be moist to germinate, 
but it must be kept moist. If wheat is sown on the surface 
it will, from the ordinary moisture derived from the air, 
germinate, but should it turn dry,- the grain, being de- 
prived of its moisture, will loose its vitality. In this man- 
ner much of the wheat seed last year was destroyed, the 
stands were bad, and hence, in thirsty soils, short crops. 
Therefore to both germinate and continue the vitality of 
wheat, it is necessary that it should be protected by soil 
enough to preserve its moisture. But here comes another 
fact essential to its success, and this fact it will be well 
enought to bear in mind. Not only are warmth and moisture 
necessary to the germination of wheat, but air and light are 
equally necessary to its developement. Many eminent 
botanists believe that darkness is essential to the process of 
germination, but almost every one has seen grains of wheat 
placed in a bunch of cotton in the mouth of a jar, and those 
not buried in the cotton, stimulated by the moisture evapo- 



80 WHEAT CTJLTURE 

rating from the jar, begin very soon to send clown the 
rootlets to the water. In this simple manner all the pheno- 
mena of growth are made patent to every one taking the 
trouble to test it. Atmospheric air, therefore, is essential to 
the sprouting of seeds. It is true that seeds will sprout in 
water, aiid it is equally true that no water exists, unless 
made so, free from air. Fish breathe by passing water over 
their gills, and aquatic plants extract it in the same manner. 
De Saussure boiled water so as to expel its air and then 
sealed up, putting seed in it, and the seed failed to germi- 
nate. Petri's experiment, though old, is good and' trust- 
worthy. If wheat is sown on the surtace, birds, insects, 
animals and the heat of the sun 'will destroy much of the 
seed. Should the land be simply harrowed the same ob- 
jection would hold good with at least half the seed, for the 
harroAV would not cover any except that which falls into a 
depression. Should the wheat be plowed in too deep, as is the 
practice of many, it will be deprived of the other necessities 
of vegetation, light and air. There must, therefore, be a 
proper and just medium to secure in the best possible man- 
ner all these pre-requisites to full growth. The proper 
depth is seen in the table by Prof. Petri : 



Seed sown 


to the depth 


Came above ground 


No. 


of plants came up. 


of 


1 


inches 


in 


11 


days 




7-8 




1 


f( 


(1 


12 






all 




2 


(1 


K 


18 






7-8 




3 


11 


II 


20 






6-8 




4 


11 


(( 


21 






4-8 




5 


(1 


II 


22 






3-8 




6 


II 


11 


23 






1-8 




7 


II 


II 


25 




3 peed out of 100, 



From this table only one-sixth as many seeds germinate 
at six inches as at three inches. A great difference of 
opinion prevails as to the proper depth. The Germans 
contend the deeper the better to the depth of four iuche.?. 
About three-fourths of the seed will come up at the depth 
of three inches, and nearly all at from one to two. The warmer 



IN TENNESSEE. 81 

tlie soil is the sooner will it germinate. An experiment 
was made in Sweden, a cold climate, and that sown on the 
28th of April came up in eighteen days, that sown the 
21st of May required eight days, while that' sown on the 
4th of June came up in six days. 

Light also has a wonderful influence on the sprouting and 
growing seeds. In dark rainy weather, long continued, the 
crop will begin to turn yellow and fade, while a bright sun 
for a fcAV da^'s will restore them their rich green color. In 
"Researches of Light" we find the following experiment: 
"Some seeds being placed in the soil, in every respect in 
their natural conditions, duly supplied with moisture, and a 
uniform and proper temperature maintained, we place 
above the soil a yellow glass, a cobalt blue glass and a glass 
colored a deep blood red and allowed one portion to be ex- 
posed to the ordinary Influence of the soTar rays. The re- 
sult was that the seeds under the blue glass germinated long 
before those exposed to the sunshine, a few seed struggle 
into day under the red glass, while the process of germina- 
tion is entirely checked under the yellow glass." 

I have the opportunity to copy the following letter from 
one of the most trustworthy seed merchants in the old 
world. His manner of proving the wheat seed he sells is 
here shown, and the trouble is so slight we would com- 
mend it to all our farming friends before sowing their 
■wheat. It will save many a disappointment: 

Edinburgh, Scotland, May i, 187G. 

Dear Sie: I am f ivored wi li yours of 'he 5tli relative to my practi- 
cal experience in toe effect of chemicil agc-noy of colored medife on the 
germination of seeds and grow.h of plants. 

I must first explain tha" it is our practice to test the germinating power 
of all &eeus which come into our warerooms before sending them out for 
sale ; and of course it is an object to diiscove r witli as little delay as possi- 
ble the extent that the viial principle is active, as the value comes to he 
depreciated in the ratio it is found to be dormant. For instance, if vce 
sow one hundred seeds of any sort, and ihe wlioie germinate, the seed will 
be the highe&t current value; but if only ninety germinate its value is 10 
per cent, koi, or 90 per cent., if eighty, then 20 per cent, less, eic. 



82 WHEAT CULTURE 

I merely give this detail to show the practical value of this test, and the 
influence it exerts on the fluctuation of prices. 

Our usual plan formerly was to sow the seeds to be tested in a hot bed 
or frame, and then wateh the progress and note the result. It was usually 
from eight to fourteen days before we were able to decide on the commer- 
cial value of the seeds under trial. 

My attention was directed, however, to your excellent work "On the 
Practical Phenomena of Nature" about five years ago, and I resolved to 
put your theory to a practical test. I accordingly had a case made, the 
sides of which were colored blue or indigo, which case I attached to a 
small gHs stove used for engendering heat. In the case shelves were fixed 
on the inside, on which were placed small pots wherein seeds to be tested 
were sown. 

The results were all that could be looked for: the seeds freely germi- 
nated in from three to five days only, instead of from eight to fourteen days- 
as before. 

I have not carried our experiments beyond the germination of seeds, so 
that I cannot afford practical information aa to the effect of other rays on 
after culture of plants. 

I have however made some trials with the yellow ray in preventing the 
germination of seeds, which have been succes^^ful ; and I have always 
found the violet ray prejudicial to the growth of the plant after germina- 
tion. 

I remain, my dear sir^very faithfully yours, 

Chaeles Lawsok. 

Not as a matter of practical value but merely to gratify a 
laudable curiosity, it will be proper to give the opinion of 
men eminent in science, as to the po.ssibility of seeds of 
wheat, found buried with mummies in the the pyramids, 
germinating. It was at one time confidently asserted that 
new varieties with several heads to each btalk had been 
started from this source, but when proof was demanded it 
was always wanting in some important particular, a link 
lost that could not be supplied. Martin Farqnhar Tupper^ 
the poet and Christian gentleman, whose word cannot be 
doubted^ claimed to have raised one stalk from seed given 
him. Sir Gardiner AVilkerson, when in Egypt, opened a 
tomb himself, that had lain undisturbed for 3,000 years. 
He got some seeds of wheat and barley from an alabaster 
sepulchral vase M'ith his own hands. Portions of this came 



IN TEXXESSEE. 83 

into Mr. Tapper's hands, 12 grains direct. He sifted soil, 
and placed it in pots so that it was impossible any other 
seeds should remain in the soil. He took every precaution 
possible, by marking the spots where the seed would come 
up, and securing the pots against being tampered with, and 
then, 7th March, 1840, planted the seeds. On April 27, 
one sprout showed itself above ground, and the remaining 
eleven rotted in the pots. On the 5th July the heads began 
to form, it having in the meantime been transferred to the 
garden, and though weak and feeble, showed signs of health. 
It was somewhat different from any known varieties. The 
Ktalk was three feet high, and the heads, two in number, 
two and a half and three inches long. So soon as Mr. Tup- 
per published his report he was assailed all over England as 
having been deceived at some point, and Sir Gardiner Wil- 
kerson being applied to by the British Association for some 
seeds, furnished some that contained maize. This beinff a 
new world plant, showed signs of having been deposited for 
the deception of travelers, and the well-known character of 
the Arabs for deceiving tourists convinced many that it wcs 
a deception. Many scientific men of various times have at- 
tempted to raise wheat from these mummy seeds, but no 
perfectly authenticated case ever occurred. 

M. Denon, a scientist of France, accompanied Napoleon in 
his expedition to Egypt, and had every facility possible 
given him to collect all kinds of remains of antiquity. He 
paid especial attention to the Gramiuacea, and used every 
possible precaution to ensure success. He never did get one 
single seed to germinate, and was of the opinion, from a 
chemical analysis made of them, that they were charred to 
preserve them, before being encased in the tombs. 

At a meeting of the British Association this subject en- 
gaged so earnestly the attention not only of England, but of 
its members, that an experiment was ordered to establish 
beyond controversy the age at which seeds would grow. 
This committee expended much time and money in making 



84 



WHEAT CUI.TURE 



a fair and thorough research, and published the result of 
their work. It is needless to give in detail their report, 
but it will be sufficient for our purpose to append the result 
of tiicir labor, so far as the usual farm grains ore concerned. 
Their experiments embraced no less than two hundred and 
eighty-eight genera, illustrating seventy-one natural fami- 
lies, and including nearly every species of plants cultivated 
both for culinary use and for ornamentation. Of course, 
these experiments consumed several years, as they continued 
to sow until, at the lapse of eight years, only four species 
continued to grow. We give below their report on 
Graminacse : 



Zea Maize, Indian Corn 

CobleUs Corn 

Phanaris Canariensis, Canary Seed 
II (I II II 

u i: « ti 

Panicum Miliaceum, Millet Seed., 

a II a ti 

Avena Saliva, Oats 

li II II 

(I II II 

II a a 

Triticum ^stivum, "Wiicat 

u (I it 

It (( u 

II II II 

Triticum, Spring Mummy Wheat. 

Stcale Cereale, Kye 

Hordeum Vulgare, Barley 



Yea. '9 


No. Seeds 


Old. 


Sown. 


3 


300 


2 


27 


3 


300 


8 


200 


9 




o 


400 


3 


200 


3 


300 


8 


2(J0 


9 




3 


300 


3 


200 


8 




9 




3 


300 


3 


300 


9 








3 


600 


3 


300 


8 




9 




3 


300 


48 




50 





127 
12 
147 
19 
nil 
178 
100 
237 
37 
nil 
210 
163 
nil 
nil 
139 
140 
nil 
4 
167 
nil 
nil 
236 
nil 
nil 



It will be seen here that corn at three years of age 
sprouted less than half; millet seed, less than half; oats at 
three years, about three-fourths were good, and at eigbt less 
than one-sixth; wheat at three years, a little over half, and 
at eight and nine years did not germinate at all ; rye at 



IN TENNESSEE. 85 

three years, practically none; and barley at three years, 
from one-half to two-thirds, but at eight and upwards did 
not germinate. It is unnecessary to say these experiments 
are entirely to be relied npon. The seeds were carefully 
kept in waxed cloth and in sealed jars. This exhibits in a 
marked degree the necessity of securing for farming pur- 
poses fresh seeds. If they lose one-half of their vitality 
in three years, they certainly lose some in two years. So 
the better plan is to always secure fresh seeds of the previ- 
ons year's growth, and not later at least than two years. 
This plan not only relates to wheat, but to corn, oats, rye, 
barley, and millet seeds. 

Let us note for a few moments the germinating process in 
a grain of wheat. Lay down the grain on the furrowed 
side, with the hairy end from you. We will suppose it has 
been moistened, and has the proper amount of heat. You 
cannot see inside, but we already know the anatomy of the 
parts, and can therefore see what is taking place. Water 
has penetrated through the different skins of the wheat, and 
has -reached the embryo membrane, but cannot pass this, 
but is led to the embryo. Here the water is decomposed, 
and some of its oxygen unites with the carbon of the seed, 
heat by the escape of carbonic acid gas is generated, and a 
minute portion of the albuminoid substance — Leibig says, 
1-oUOthpart of the grain — is converted into diastase. This 
is a bitterish sort of yeast, and causes a fermentation to 
take place that converts the starch and cellulose into sugar 
and gum. This sugar and gum is the food of the young 
plant, until it has sufficient strength to feed itself by means 
of its roots. So, although the delicate shoots of plants 
have no mother to gather food for them. Nature has pro- 
vided for them all the same, and they are able through this 
wise provision to liye and grow ; and this very storehouse 
of plant food that is provided in all vegetation serves also 
lor man's food. Now, let us observe what processes lake 
place externally. The little spot, or depression, on the 



86 



■\VHEAT CULTURE 




point and back of the grain is the germ, or rather, it is 
just under the hull at this point. Presently a small white 
point starts out from the nearest point, and turns down ; 
Yir, 3 that is the main root. For 

a short distance the cellulose 
tissue of the grain follows it, 
but it soon outruns it, and, 
turning down, starts into the 
ground. This root has on 
the end a little sponge-like 
ball, full of holes, or tubes, 
and, as the root progresses, 
other sponges with short 
stems start out on its sides. 
These sponges are suckers, 
and through these suckers, 
or mouths, the young plant seeks in the soil its proper sup- 
port. Very soon after the main root has started outj we see 
a modest little greenish point protruding just above the 
jDoint of exit from the main root. This also pushes out a 
little cellular tissue from the grain, but soon leaves it, and 
as it grows it begins to expand and takes a decided green 
color, and looks so much like a feather it is called a 
" plumule,^' or little plume. It is seen at a, figure 3. This 
is the embryo stalk, and although it is only a single leaf, 
and looks smooth and shining, yet it is, through this mag- 
nifying glass, a perfect honeycomb of holes and tubes, just 
as the root has. This leaf is hunting in the air for food, 
just as the roots are in the soil. Maybe it is diiferent food, 
found by different means. Here are two more roots start- 
ing out, one on each side of the main root. These are 
marked/, in figure 3, and are the " true roots/^ and these at 
at e arc sending out numerous rootlets. Very soon the 
store of sugar in the grain will be exhausted, but then these 
rootlets will be able to support it, for, in the soil mixed in 
proper proportions, the tiny roots will hunt out and absorb. 



IN TENNESSEE. 87 

through their tubes and sponges, all that it requires, and 
thence it is carried into the body in the form of sap, and 
the leaves through its pores v. ill absorb from the atmos- 
phere carbonic acid gas, which, uniting in the body of the 
plant with its proper elements, potash, phosphorus, magne- 
sia, etc., forms the substance of the plant. Now, this car- 
bonic acid gas is one of the most deleterious elements in 
nature to animal life, and in the proportion it is mixed 
with the air, just so noxious and unhealthy is that air for 
the respiration of man. But without this acid plants could 
not live. Thus it will be seen what kills animals will sus- 
tain plant-life. The one is a balance, or compensation, for 
the other. Carbonic acid gas is formed in animals, and is 
I thrown out in their respiration. So soon as it comes in 

contact with leaves, however, it is re-absorbed, and stored 
away in the form of wood, to be used by man for produc- 
ing heat, when it is again set free to be re-absorbed by 
plants. 

There is one thing necessary to call attention to, in con- 
nection with the appearance of the little sponges at the ex- 
tremity of the roots. Let it be borne in mind, that nearly 
all the nourishment taken into a plant is through these mi- 
nute cell- bulbs, and yet they are so small as to be invisible 
with the naked eye. It is plain that the plant food must be 
in convenient apposition to these rootlets, or it cannot be 
taken up. Therefore, in order to be reached, the soil must 
be thoroughly well pulverized. It is an indisputable axiom, 
that a well-pulverized poor soil will grow better produce 
than a stiff, cloddy one well fertilized. There can l)e no 
sort of doubt that certain kinds of food are as essential to 
the health of plants as to animals, and it must be supplied 
to them, and the rootlets, in order to take advantage of it, 
must have the utmost freedom of action. Not only must 
the roots feed the plant, but they must also act as a scaffolding 
to support erect the plants against storm and wind. Pull 
up a wheat stalk so as not to sever the roots, and we are 



05 WHEAT CULTURE 

struck with wonder at the manner in which they branch 
ont, interweaving and thrusting themselves • around or 
through obstacles of all kinds. A gentleman made an ex- 
periment to ascertain whether the roots took up nourish- 
ment along their course or at the ends of their spongioles, 
and he did it by watering with colored water. After a few 
days he examined, and found that only the ends or spongi- 
oles were colored, the roots themselves having none. So 
soon as the true roots, already mentioned, have attained suf- 
ficient growth, the main root dies or shrivels up. This, 
however, is the case with all cereals. 

When the plumule comes out of the ground an inch or 
two, the true leaves begin to appear, and the central bud 
forms the stalk. Just under the soil a joint or knot is 
formed, and another one just above it. The one just under 
the soil gives rise to the surface roots, or crown roots, and 
these are the chief agents in caring for and nourishing the 
plant. If the plumule is broken off, it does not put out 
another, the plant then has to depend on oif-shoots, and if 
all the suckers are broken off the plant withers and dies. 
This is on account of injury to the cell tissue. This is w^hy 
the presence of grasshoppers is so destructive to wheat. 
They eat out the heart of the plant. And for this reasoa 
the presence of cattle, after certain stages, destroys or great- 
ly injures the stand. Sheep, especially, are injurious, as 
from the peculiar manner in which they draw out the blades, 
the whole heart is often pulled out and the plant dies. 

On the subject of "tillering," it may here be laid down 
as a known fact that the tillers or suckers all spring from 
the "true roots," those that come out on each side of the 
grain after the first root has been sent into the ground. 
Look at Fig. 3, and the roots marked F F will show the 
ones that give out the suckers e e e, and the position will be 
readily understood. 

The importance of this fact is well understood when it is 
reflected that the depth of grain governs the "tillering,'' 



IN TENNESSEE. 89 

and also the coronal or surface roots. Wheat lies in the 
ground after the two sets of roots, viz., main root G in Fig. 
3, and F F, the true roots, have come out with but little 
change until spring. Of course these roots send out root- 
lets in every direction seeking food, and also throw up a 
few blades, but the great change takes place in the early 
spring, when the warm sun begins to stimulate its growth. 
Then "tillers" begin to shoot up all around the main stalk, 
and the first joint, if under the ground, throws out numer- 
ous fibres wdiich soon become a mass of roots, that both sup- 
port and sustain the weight of the stem. Now, if the grain 
lies on or very near the surface, the coronal roots fail to 
come, for the first joint of the stem is above ground, and if 
nj the grain is buried deeply in the soil but few or no til- 
^ lers make their appearance. These "tillers" throw out cor- 
onal or surface roots, and become independent stalks, cap- 
able of sustaining themselves if separated from the parent 
stem, so when an experiment is made they can be drawn 
out and transplanted with ease. For this and other reasons 
it is best the wheat should be at least two inches under the 
surface. Spring wheat does not "tiller" to any extent. 



90 WHEAT CULTURE 



CHAPTER XII. 

NUTRITION OF PLANTS — CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF 

SOILS. 

It has been shown that the young plant subsists on the 
store of starch and gluten that is laid up in the parent 
grain, but this is of course soon exhausted, and then the 
roots have to make their own living. The plant finds itself 
in a soil variously composed of clay, with its numerous 
compounds, silica, alumina, soda, potash, magnesia, lime, 
etc., and humus, or vegetable mould, decayed vegetation, 
and possibly the prudent farmer has added to it his store of 
manure. But if nothing but organic substances entered into 
the composition of the plant, it would yield few or no ashes 
on being burned. We have shown in a former chapter that 
ashes remain, and therefore we know inorganic substances 
aid in building up this wonderful superstructure of straws, 
heads, chaif and wheat grains. 

This brings us to a question that only the researches of 
geologists and chemists enable us to answer. In order to 
answer it px'operly we must first determine the elements of 
which clay is composed. That clay alone can sustain 
vegetable life has been fully demonstrated. 

The continued decay of vegetables for unnumbered ages 
is sufficient to deposit a layer of humus, giving the top soil 
its dark color. How or where does clay originate ? It is, 
as all know, the detritus of rocks rubbing together by the ac- 
tion of water, which would necessarily produce fine particles, 
just as dust is made on turnpikes, only here it is the friction 



IN TENNESSEE. 91 

of travel, there it is the friction of water, the crumbling of 
frosts, etc. 

Granite, the oldest rock, is composed of quartz, feldspar, 
and mica, and sometimes hornblende. 
Feldspar is composed — 

Silica 64.50 

Alumina 19.75 

Potassa 11.50 

Oxide Iron 1.75 

Water 0.75 

Lime a trace. 

Here we have several of the inorganic elements necessary 
to the growth of vegetation. 

Quartz is the most abundant of all rock substances, and en- 
ters more largely into all vegetation than other minerals. It is 
silica and oxygen, or silicic acid. All pure white sand and 
flint and cr3'stal is silica. It composes for the most part 
sandstone rock, in fact nearly all rocks are composed large- 
ly of this base. But these silicates are all insoluble in 
water, unless by the action of an alkali. Such as potash, 
soda, etc, and these are nearly always found in sufficient 
quantity in the soil to answer. Without silica, no cereal 
could stand up ; it enters into the composition of all cereals. 
Alumina, which is pure clay, is found everywhere, though 
not in a pure form. Kaolin, or the clay from which china- 
ware is made is the purest form oi it. It is formed from 
the disintegration of feldspars, slates or shales. It is com- 
posed of oxygen and aluminum, a shining metal, that never 
occurs in nature. Without the presence of alumina in clay, 
it would lose its plasticity, and could not be moulded into 
queensware, earthenware or bricks. 

Potassium, a bluish white metal, is the base of potash. 
It has such an affinity for oxygen that, thrown upon 
water, it w-ill burn spontaneously. In consequence of its 
great affinity for oxygen, if brought into contact with alumi- 



92 WHEAT CULTURE 

na or silica^ it decomposes it, and renders it soluble. Salt- 
petre is a nitrate of potassium. 

Iron, also, has a great affinity for oxygen, and forms oxide 
of iron, or iron rust. It is so generally distributed in na- 
ture that few minerals are without some of its eombinntions. 

Chalybeate waters are so called because carbonate of iron 
is mixed with them. 

Mica, another ingredient of granite, is found in a confused 
mass in granite, limestone, and in large plates in porphyry. 

The following is its composition : 

Alumina 20.00 

Silica 47.00 

Oxide of Iron 15.50 

Oxide of Manganese 1.75 

Potassa 14.50 

This does not diifer materially from the others except the 
presence of manganese, and this is a rare ingredient in soils. 
It is used in its compound forms quite exten.sively in the 
arts, but not in agriculture. 

Hornblende is very common, and occurs according to its 
combinations in many different forms. It is called green- 
stone, and was a favorite mineral used by the aborigines to 
make pipes, axes, tomahawks, etc. It is asbestos, which is 
used as a roofing material, being incombustible, and some 
kinds of asbestos is woven into fabrics, and used by firemen 
as a covering. The Californians, in the early days of min- 
ing, made it into table-cloths, pants, etc., and when they 
wished to wash them, they burnt them clean. Its com- 
position is as follows : 

Silica 42.00 

Alumina 12.00 

Lime 11.00 

Magnesia 2.25 

Oxide of Iron JU.OO 

Ferruginous Manganese 0.25 

Lime is the carbonate of calcium, and in this form it 



IN TENNESSEE. 93 

enters largely in the compositition of rocks, shells, etc. 
MarWe, limestone, chalk and oyster and mussel shells, are 
composed of carbonate of lime. 

AVheu these substances are burned, carbonic acid is ex- 
pelled, and quick-lime is the result. This has such an affin- 
ity for water that one ton of it will absorb 500 pounds of 
water, and then it is slacked lime. The water then becomes 
part and parcel of the mineral. This affinity for water is so 
great, that by its powerful action, if water is applied, it will 
produce a great amount of heat. If lime contains as much 
clay as 10 or 12 per cent, it makes hydraulic cement, and 
the more clay the better, up to 40 per cent. It is supposed 
that lime applied to the soil hastens the assimilation of veg- 
etable or organic matters in it. it also forms part of the 
plants themselves thougli in a small degree. 

Sulphate of lime, gypsum, plaster of Paris, alabaster, 
diiferent names for the same substance, is of great impor- 
tance to plants, nearly all showing its existence in their 
ashes. 

Phosphate of lime, found in all animals and vegetables, 
is found abundantly in a state of nature. 

Magnesia, an oxide of magnesium, also enters into many 
things; sulphate of magnesia is Epsom-salts; carbonate of 
magnesia is sold in white cakes as a medicine, and enters 
into the ashes of many plants. 

All these ingredients result from the disintegration of 
granite, and they form the chief sources of the soil. 

Granite is suj^posed to be the primitive rock, and has lost 
its constituents during untold ages, by the slow action of 
water and air. Upheavals also contribute their share to- 
wards this result. The destruction of granite leaves quartz, 
feldspar, mica, etc. These in turn are decomposed, and 
various compounds come from them. Water, by rolling 
and rubbing, makes a part, and this is added to, by frosts, 
rains and the action of the most powerful acids, and yet 



94 WHEAT CULTURE 

what carbonic acid is caught in descendina; rains is sufficient 
to decompose the silica that is in feldspar, thus freeing the 
alumiua from its combination, and that which is released 
goes into the soil. 

In addition to these mineral earths there is sodium, the 
base of salt, and borax and washing soda, and a great many 
other compounds. It aids materially in the preparation of 
many ingredients of the soil for nutrition. 

Phosphoric acid is found in all rocks of primitive origin. 
It enters more into the composition of plants than any other 
mineral, and is a large ingredient of the cereals, it forming 
about fifty per cent, of the ashes of buckwheat. 

Sulphur, in the form of sulphuric acid, is also important 
in agricultural chemistry, and serves as a solvent of some 
of the mineral earths. 

These are all the ponderable bodies that go to the make- 
up of the plant, but there are others imponderable that is 
lighter than v/ater, and gaseous in form, that contribute as 
much as the others. In fact, M'ithout the one the others 
would be useless. Both are essential to the growth and 
maturity of the plant. These are carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, 
and hydrogen. Carbon is the most generally diffused of all 
substances in vegetation, at least one-half of all plants 
being composed of it. It constitutes the diamond, char- 
coal, graphite or " black lead," and forms the greater part 
of stone coal, petroleum, naptha, etc., etc. In combination 
■with oxygen, it forms carbonic acid gas, and in this form, 
being heavier than the air, it comes in contact with vegeta- 
tion, and sinks into all depressions, and is then called 
" choke damp," " bad air," and certainly destroys the lives 
of those who incautiously venture into wells where it exists. 

When carbon combines with hydrogen, it makes illumi- 
nating gas. This gas not only is formed in gas works of 
cities, but nature has a laboratory beside which that of man 
is Lilliputian in size. AVe mean the immense SAvamps and 
marshes that cover so much of the earth's surflice. Vast 



IN TENNESSEE. 95 

amounts of vegetable matter are here undergoing decom- 
position, and the gas arises therefrom in the form of bub- 
bles; and if one should apply a lighted taper, it would 
explode. 

Oxygen is another gas, and, though invisible, it goes 
further than all other substances toward the make-up of the 
earth. Nothing could exist without it, and yet it is the 
great destroyer. It is called oxygen, or " acid maker," 
because it was at one time supposed to have caused the for-, 
mation of acids. It enters into all vegetables, all rocks 
and soils, composes one-fifth of the atmosphere, and eight- 
ninths of the water on the earth. It composes more of the 
earth than all other substances put together. 
I We have said it is a destroyer as well as a maker. It is 

the principle in the air that induces decay, but it loses its 
jwwer without heat. It rusts iron, corrodes silver or cop- 
per, putrifies flesh, and causes the decomposition of all 
organic substances. Cut your finger, and it is very painful. 
It is the irritating effects of oxygen. Put a court-plaster 
over it, the pain ceases at on^e. That is because the oxygen 
of the air is cut off. During a great cataclysm of 
earlier ages, some mastodons became imbedded in the 
ice of Siberia. We have no conception of the length 
of time they have lain there, perhaps many thousands of 
of years. Yet occasionally a carcass is discovered, and the 
animal is so well preserved the flesh is eaten by the Esqui- 
maux. This marvelous preservation of animal matter is 
due to the inert condition of oxygen through the covering 
of the ice, and the presence of cold, for without heat oxygen 
is powerless. Fruit is preserved by excluding the air, and 
so the oxygen. With iron it makes rust, but with sulphur 
it is oil of vitrol. Hydrogen also enters sulphuric acid. 
Without oxygen no fires could burn, and besides no animal 
heat could exist. It enters the lungs, and finds in the sys- 
tem carbon and other principles; combustion, silent but 
sure, ensues throughout the system, and heat is generated. 



96 WHEAT CULTURE 

"Oxygen is the factor which returns all substances to the 
earth, whence they are taken, and the process by which 
materials are returned, or converted, into their original ele- 
ments is combustion." 

Nitrogen is a negative gas, and simply acts as a diluent 
for oxygen in the air. It will not support life nor combus- 
tion. It will not support vegetation alone, yet it is a very 
important ingredient of all animal tissues, and enters the 
blood in vegetable matter. It only combines with other 
elements in the nascent state. With oxygen and hydrogen, 
it forms ammonia, and this will be found in manures. The 
smell is prominent in stables, and in the urine of stock. It 
is called hartshorn. Its great use is to neutralize acids, 
even the most powerful, and hence is of great use to the 
agriculturist. Sometimes a field is turned over with a mass 
of green weeds. The farmer is astonished that it does not 
manure the ground. It is because it is sour. If ammonia 
is spread over it, in the form of manure, marvelous effects 
are })rod!iced. It is then benefited by the weeds. For this 
reason manure should never be spread until the plow is 
ready to turn it under, for ammonia being exceeding voli- 
tile, it all evaporates, goes into the air, and leaves the 
manure without strength. 

Hydrogen is the lightest thing in nature, being sixteen 
times lighter than air. Hence it never exists in a state 
of nature; if any forms, it rises at once. It forms 11 
per cent, of water, and enters into the composition of all 
animal and vegetable substances. It is highly inflammable, 
and is used with carbon to light cities, raise balloons, etc. 

Thus we have given a brief description of nearly all the ele- 
ments that go to the building up and perfecting of the wheat 
plants. It is truly wonderful ho^^ plants will hunt out with 
unerring certainty through the soil for its nutritive wants, 
and assimilate them. It was at one time thought that 
plants took up these ingredients accidentally, but Leibeg 
opened up a field of chemical research, followed by others, 



i2s TENNESSEE, 97 

tintil nearly all is known that can be. Some soils are rich 
in one element, and deficient in another ; hence, one plant 
will flourish on this soil, and droop on that. Although 
iime is only detected in wheat as a trace, yet that trace is 
absolutely necessary to the perfect maturity of ihe plant. 
The vine will not flourish without lime, while wheat re- 
•quires a soil rich in phosphorus or bone-dust. Tobacco and 
celery require large tjuantities of saltpetre or potash. Tea 
raised in Japan is not so good as tlie tea from China, because 
■certain salts of iron are present in the soil ; v;hile cotton raised 
in China has the peculiar color that gives it the name of 
Nankeen, and derives that color from salts of iron. Seeds 
oi this Nankeen cotton sowed in the United States is noth- 
ing more than ordinary cotton. In some experiments an 
-excess of potash, or soda, was placed in reach of plants, 
but the analysis proved that not one particle more was 
taken up on this account. 

It is a conceded fact that vegetation largely owes its sus- 
tenance to inorganic bodies. The lichen derives its sole 
nourishment from the rocks, as does the moss. It decom- 
poses the rock, and in the course of ages this source adds no 
inconsiderable amount to the soil. However, the air also 
contributes largely to the sustenance of plants. De Saus- 
■sure raised beans and peas in damp horse-hair and sand, but 
they soon drooped and died. 

Much has been written as to the effect of humus on the 
.growth of vegetable substances. The fact that much differ- 
ence of 0])inion prevails, makes it probable that little is 
known concerning it. It is vegetable mould in a state of 
decay, such as weeds, roots, chips, etc. As humus, it adds 
nothing to plants, but in a state of moisture it extracts 
oxygen from the atmosphere, a-nd forms, with its carbon, 
carbonic .acid. When we loosen the soil around plants we 
favor the admission of air, and in this way carbonic acid is 
formed. From humus is obtained humuc acid, which has 
a great tendency to absorb ammonia, and holds it very 
7 



S^S WHEAT CULTUEB 

firmly. The best cliemists say, however, uo humic acid is^ 
formed in the soil. The aetion of humis is, then, merely tO' 
furnish carbonic acid^and hasten the development of the plant. 
As it is a law in vegetable physiology that, when the food of 
the plant is more than its organs require for its own perfect 
development, the superfluous nutriment is employed in the 
formation of new organs — that is, new roots and fibres, new 
branches, leaves, etc. Hence, wheat tillers or stools most 
isihen sown in good soiL 



IN TEXNESSEE. 99 



CHAPTER XIII. 

FAVORABLE CONDITION OF TENNESSEE FOE WHEAT SOW- 
ING ROTATION AS AN IMPEOVER OF SOILS — KINDS OF 

SOILS ADAPTED TO THE GROWTH OF WHEAT IN TEN- 
NESSEE. 

Tennessee, as a wheat growing State, is increasing her 
reputation annually. Her wheat, in the first place, is of a 
very superior quality, far in advance of wheats grown fur- 
ther north. Besides, the climatic influences of Tennessee 
are very fortunate. The latitude of Tennessee is the same 
as Northern India, the place where wheat originated. 
Then the isothermal line of the northern shore of the 
Mediterranean passes through Tennessee. This Mediter- 
ranean country has long been celebrated as a wheat growing 
country, and has fed Europe for centuries with the surplus 
of her crops. Thus, if Tennessee is favorably situated as to 
latitude and heat, she is equally exempt from the chilling 
winds of the Western States that blow continuously through 
the winter and spring, stripping the soil from around the 
roots, leaving them bare and exposed to the biting frosts, 
and thus the wheat is winter-killed ; or, if it escapes this, 
the roots being upheaved by thti frosts and left bare, are ex- 
posed to the suns of summer, and what the frosts spare the 
heat destroys or vitiates. As I before stated, the wheat cul- 
ture is not profitable when the summer heat is below 57° Fah. 
Tennessee is above that average, the mean heat during the 
year being about 59° and over. Now, if we have a better 
climate, more advantages of heat, it only rests to shov/ the 
character of our soils to prove that Tennessee has more ad- 
vantages as a wheat growing country than any other State 
in the Union. And yet by bad culture millions of dol- 
lars are lost in the attempt to grow wheat. 



100 WHEAT CULTUEE 

One of the best agricultural writers in England says 
"the soil prepared for wheat in England is a strong soil 
with a large proportion of clay." The clay plays two im- 
portant ])arts here: it not only affords inorganic nourish- 
ment to the plants, but it has a mechanical effect in stiffening 
the soil, thereby holding it to the roots. The absence of 
this clay is all that prevents the prairie lands of the West 
from being the best wheat lands in the world. But they 
lack it and Tennessee has it. 

As a matter of course the other ingredients, lime, sand 
and humns are indispensible. The ^vheat culture in Call- 
fornia, that was considered the granary of the United 
States, has almost been a failure for the last two years, and 
unless a system of irrigation is devised less expensive than 
now known, wheat culture may be considered in many parts 
a dead industry. Ohio, with her sandy hills, can only be 
made profitable after incurring great expenses in hillside 
ditches and levelings, while Indiana, Illinois, JSIissouri 
and the Northwestern States — the prairie country — once 
the wonder of the world, where from 50 to 60 bushels per 
acre were common, are fast losing their popularity with 
farmers. The prairie sod is, when first broken up, very 
rich, but it is a friable mold, and when it once becomes pul- 
verized it holds water. The winters come and the rains fall on 
it, and the wheat is heaved up by the cold and much of it is 
killed; then the March Avinds come and blow the loose dirt 
away from tLe roots, and what is spared to the farmer by 
winter is destroyed by the parching rays of a summer's sun. 
For these reasons the farmers of the NorthAvest have had to 
resort in a great measure to spring wheats, and they are so 
uncertain that they can hardly be relied on to add to the 
world's supply. South of parallel 30 no wheat need be ex- 
pected. It is true some wlieat is made, but cotton, tobacco, 
sugar and rice are the natural productions ot that country, 
and what nature points out has to be followed. It is true 
under the impulse of newspapers many efforts have been 



IN TENNESSEE. 101 

put forth to divert that country from its natural channel. 
But small returns will soon bring back the agriculture to 
its ■ natural position. The Northern and New England 
States can raise and do raise much wheat, but. it is late iu 
the market, of an inferior grade compared with Tennessee 
wheat, and it. is by much labor and great expense of manur- 
ing that it is effected. 

For these reasons and many others we have come to con- 
sider that Tennessee occupies the point most favorable in 
the belt often or twelve degrees of latitude and 20° of lon- 
gitude that is considered the M'heat region of the United 
States. From latitude 32° to 43° is considered the favored 
locality. A portion of this lacking clay will not be suitable, 
or if used at all will soon wear out. A large portion is al- 
ready worn out. Some can bo reclaimed, other portion are 
irreclaimable, having l^een worn to the rocks. Under proper 
care the lands of Engh^nd have improved with hundreds of 
years of cultivation, and now make an average yield of 36 
bushels per acre. Of course this is not done without pro- 
per care and attention. Crops are rotated, fertilizing plants 
are cultivated, and fertilizers liberally used. All these 
things are attended to, and the result is instead of abandon- 
ing their lands and giving them over to briars and weeds 
for restoration, they are constantly improved by good tillage 
and judicious fertilizing, and although the climate is cold, 
wet and inhospitable, they are able to surpass our more 
highly favored and better situated fields. 

How can we do this? The answer is simple. Rotation 
with corn, clover and peas. A field clovered two years put 
to wheat one year, corn one year and back to clover and 
wheat, will constantly improve in its capabilities. Sheep 
husbandry should always go with wheat. Peas, beans, tur- 
nips and other root crops make good rotation crops for 
wheat, and these all are fine food for sheep. It is better to 
sell the crops in the form of meats than in any other way^ 
■'or then not only is a better price obtained for the produce 



102 WHEAT CULTURE 

but the droppings of the stock are secured, which is no in- 
considerable item in the balance sheet of a fanner. 

A gentleman of this State fed sheep every winter on a 
turnip field, not patcli, by the use of hurdles or movable 
fences, and the crops raised from the field the next year were 
simply enormous. With the hurdles he would fence, say 
an acre to the hundred sheep, and he would confine them 
there until they had eaten up every turnip. They would 
easily gnaw them out. By the time the turnips were ex- 
hausted, the surface would be black with their droppings. 

But all the soils of Tennessee are not notably good wheat- 
producers. In the schedule of answers appended it will be 
seen in answers to the question, " what character of soils 
is most ^suitable for wheat/' that the majority of answers 
prove the axiom at the beginning of this chapter, that strong 
soil mixed with clay, is given as the result of their experi- 
ence. The mulatto lands of the State are the best. These 
lands are also called " red lands." They are yellow from 
the admixture of clay and iron. In defining what portions 
of the State succeed best, we can only state the character 
of soil best suited, and leave the balance to the.judgment 
and experience of the owners of the farms. 

A clay sub-soil will retain moisture, so that in times of 
deficient rains the plant does not wither and die with heat, 
besides furnishing to the roots of the plant that burrow to 
this sub-soil the inorganic substances essential to their 
proper development. There is in the valley of East 
Tennessee but little land but what produces wheat to ad- 
vantage. The soils there possess naturally all the prerequi- 
sites of fertility, and all that is required of the fiirmer is a 
judicious rotation of crops, deep plowing, and proper addi- 
tions to soils that have been exhausted by long culture. The 
valleys of that portion of the State are naturally fertilized 
by the constant decomposition of the rocks on the moun- 
tains, the detritus of which is carried to the valleys with 
the soluble humus, and keeps the soil in good condition for 



IN TENNESSEE. 103 

wheat culture. Even on the slopes of the hills, when not 
too steep, t1:ie soils are rich in mineral matters. There is, 
as a general thing, a large admixture of chert or chalky 
gravel. This keeps the grouaid porous, and silica and lime 
enough are always extracted by the carbonic acid of the 
rains and dews, to keep them rich, and hence remunerative 
crops arc the result. It requires much watchfulness on 
the part of the farmer to keep this soil from wasting and 
running off into the valleys, but his watchful care is amply 
repaid in the success of his efforts. The valley of East 
Tennessee has an elevation of 1,000 feet above the sea, and 
its area is 9,200 square miles* 

Middle Tennessee is different from this in every respect. 
Here are two great divisions of soil. Of course there is 
mucii diversity locally ; some counties combining both divi- 
sions, with a gradual intermediate gradation from one to 
the other. The Basin is Silurian limestone, and has an alti- 
tude of 700 feet above the sea, and an area of 5,450 square 
miles. It has a great abundance of clay for sub-soil, with a 
black or mulatto deposit above it. This black soil is the re- 
sult of vegetable decomposition, and in proportion to its den- 
sity is its fertility. The admixture of clay renders it more or 
-less red soil. This mulatto soil has always been regarded 
as the best for small grains and clover. The Rim is differ- 
ent. The edges of the Rim show the Devonian age, and 
its general characteristic in its shale, or as it is gen- 
erally called slate. These slopes are steep, and are of no 
agricultural importance, except for its timber. The pla- 
teaus that oecur on some of the riralands, however, are very 
extensive, and belong to the lower member of the Siliceous 
group. The soil is leachy and filled with chert. There is 
a great superabundance of silica but a lack of lime, and the 
subsoil is a pale yellow sandy or gravelly clay, very 
porous, and consequently, it will not retain moisture ; ma- 
tiure it as you may, in a year or two it has all washed into the 
depths of the ground. Though the surface is covered with 



104 WHEAT CULTURE 

timber and wild grasses, and thousands of cattle fatten 
on it every year, yet' it does not produce cereals to a 
paying extent. It is true, that it would, by a proper 
rotation with clover, give good accounts in wheat, yet unless 
the country was more thickly settled than now, and trans- 
portation better, it v/ould not pay to work it. Its capacity ;, 
however, as a tree-growing region, has been taken advantage 
of, and it has proved itself to be the finest fruit-growing re- 
gion in Tennessee. The altitude of these plateaus are 1,000 
feet above the sea, so that the thermal condition is highly 
favorable to the production of apples, grapes, pears, peaches 
and other fruits. 

But the "Rim" is not uniform in this character. There 
are two principal kinds of soil, the upper and lower sili- 
ceous groups. The lower group represents the kind here 
mentioned, and is known by its plane-like surface, and is 
called "barrens." These lands, as before said, are leachy, 
and only suitable for oats, potatoes, fruits, etc. These pla- 
teaus of tiiin soils are principally found in the south-western 
parts of the rim, though here not universally. Parts of 
Coifee, Franklin, and nearly all of Lewis, much of Hick- 
man, Humphreys, Wayne, and all that portion of Lawrence 
not included in the "prairies" or river basins, constitute the 
"barrens." 

The upper siliceous group has a more rolling surface, 
with a red, tenaceous, unctious clay, with a greater or less 
covering of humus, and underneath is a cherty subsoil that 
gives it a sufficient porosity to furnish ample drainage. Such 
lands are found in Montgomery, Robertson, Stewart, part 
of Sumner, Warren, White, Putnam^ Macon, Clay, one-half 
of Coffee and portions of Franklin. This soil is very pro- 
ductive, and gives some of the best wheat and clover lands 
in the State. The barrens are too leachy for wheat, quickly 
sifting down manures that are applied. 

The lowlands or " bottoms" on the streams, however, in 
these barrens are well suited to the growth of all the cereals. 



IX TENNESSEE. 105 

The accumulated humus of the hills, largely mixed with 
chert and sand renders it light, porous and exceedingly fer- 
tile; The area of the "Rim" is 5>,300 square miles. 

The Cumberland table-land rises 2,000 feet above the sea 
level. Agriculturally, this section is only noted for its fine 
swath of grass during the summer, for its excellent apple 
orchards and its capacity for the production of garden vege- 
tables. It is not a wheat-growing section, however. Fine 
crops of corn and wheat have been grown on it by heavily 
manuring, but the cost of production would overgo the re- 
sults abtained. It is flat, swampy in places, and siliceous 
or sandy. The same remarks that apply to the rim as to 
fruit is here more potent. Some of our best nurseries are 
located on the mountains. Its area is 5,100 square miles. 
Its mineral wealth is inexhaustible, and the abundance of 
coal and timber will always give this section a value inde- 
pendent of its agriculture. It has of late become the cen- 
tre of gravitation for capitalists from the North and from 
Europe, and is destined soon to become in spite of its ap- 
parent poverty, the most important section of the Slate. It 
is well suited for potatoes, melons, peas, etc., and when 
thousands of miners congregate there, its agricultural capa- 
bilities will be tested to the full to feed its citizens. 

Between the bottoms of the Tennessee and Mississippi 
rivers is a sloping plateau about 85 miles wide, and com- 
prising an area of 8,850 square miles. The soils of the 
plateau are composed, for the most part, of a calcareo-sili- 
ceous soil, very uniform in the degree of their fertility, 
easy to work but tender and easy to wash. In the north- 
ern tier of counties where there is a predominance of clay, 
clover grows with a surprising luxuriance, and wheat makes 
an average yield greater than in any other division of the 
State. Henry, AYeakley, Obion, Dyer, Lauderdale, Tipton, 
Gibson, Crocket and Carroll have soils wonderfully adapted 
to the production of this cereal. The counties south of 
these do not produce wheat in such quantities, but some fine 



106 WHEAT CULTURE 

yields are reported. Continued cultivation in corn 
and cotton without rest or rotation, has greatly im- 
paired the fertility of the farms, yet by the judi- 
cious rotation of the crops with peas, and where not too sandy, 
clover, treated with plaster of Paris, the soils may be re- 
claimed and made as productive as ever. Lake county is a 
bed of alluvium, probably the most fertile county in the 
State, but owing to the exuberant fertility of the soil wheat 
is apt to bed and rust. But for this, it would equal the 
valley of the Nile in the production of wheat. But this 
county does not belong to the plateau, and lies wholly with 
the Mississippi bottoms. 

These bottoms, with those of the Tennessee river, are of 
surprising fertility, raising nearly all kinds of produce in 
the most luxuriant manner. Wheat, however, as has been 
said, lodges and rusts, there being too much rankness in its 
stem. In some parts of the "bottoms," where from over- 
flows, sand has been deposited, it does extremely well, yield- 
ing large crops. As a rule, however, the bottoms are better 
suited to the cultivation of corn and cotton. The Tennessee 
''bottom" has an area of 1,200 miles, and an altitude of 350 
feet above sea level, while the Mississippi "bottom" has an 
area of 900 miles, and an altitude of 295 feet above sea 
level. 

The mean temperature of the valley of East Tennessee 
is 59°, of Middle Tennessee 60°, and of West Tennessee 
61°. The average temperature is 58° and more. Mr. A. C. 
Ford, of the Signal Service, says : The mean temperature of 
Nashville, Tennessee, for 1873 is 59.5°; 1874, 58.7°; 1875, 
58.5°; 1876,59.1°. The altitude of Nashville above sea 
level 504.2 feet ; Memphis, 298.94 ; Knoxville, 993.02. 
Tennessee has every altitude possible between 200 and 4,000 
feet. 

The isothermals of Tennessee passes through the most 
delightful countries of Europe. Lying between latitudes 
35° and 36° 30', and longitude 81° 37' and 90° 28' west of 



IX TENNESSEE. 107 

Greenwich, it has every variety of climate, from the cool, 
salubrious breezes of the mountains, to the warm, growing 
sun -of Spain, Though its isothermal line passes through 
the countries bordering the Mediterranean, Turkey, the 
tea-growing districts of China, and the spicy fields of Japan, 
there is a marked difference in the climate of Tennessee and 
that of those countries just named. The range of the ther- 
mometer is greater in Tennessee, and consequently, the olive, 
fig, lemons and oranges, of those countries, cannot undergo 
its range. But for the cultivation of the cereals, we far sur- 
pass them. This is owing to the greater heat of our sum- 
mers. West Tennessee having a mean summer heat of 
about one degree more than Middle Tennessee, makes cotton 
and tobacco the staple crops, this small amount of heat being 
sufficient to mature the cotton crop, and ripen all its bolls. 
East Tennessee is about 2° colder than Middle Ten- 
nessee and the table-lands of the Cumberland and its out- 
lying terraces are 5° to 6° colder than Nashville. On this 
account these elevated points are becoming a great resort to 
to the sick during the debilitating heats of summer. 

The average length of the growing season in Tennessee 
is 189 days. In the southern border it is ten or twelve days 
longer. By this is meant the time between late and early 
frosts. The latest frost for any autumn for twenty- two 
years, was November 8, and this season extended 228 days, 
the early frost occurring March 23. 



108 WHEAT CULTURE 



CHAPTER XIY. 

SOILS OF TENNESSEE. 

To any one who lives in one portion of the State, and who 
has not left his locality, it may seem that all soils are like 
that with which he is acquainted. Should several travelers, 
however, leave Kentucky at eight different points, pass 
through Tennessee and meet in Alabama, each one would 
come to a dili'erent conclusion as to the soils of Tennessee. 
This difference of opinion would naturally enough ensue 
from the character of the eight divisions of the State. We 
reproduce here what I have heretofore said of the soils of 
Tennessee. Every variety of soil may be found within the 
limits of the State. On the Unakas are found soils from 
the disintegration of granite which are sandy, micaceous 
and mellow. These granitic soils are confined exclusively ' 
to the counties bordering the eastern end of the State. 
Owing to the uneven surface of this portion of the State, 
the capacity of these soils has been tested to a very small 
extent. Yv^ild grasses grow upon the tops of the mountains 
with great luxuriance, and aiford fine pasturage for stock 
herders. The soil upon some of the "balds" is black and 
prairie like. Buckwheat grows with great rankness, and 
yields with remarkable fecundity, and in a few localities, 
3,000 feet above the sea, good wheat has been grown. 

On the Cumberland table-lands sandstone soils prevail, 
as well as on some of the ridges of the valley of East Tenn- 
essee. This class of soils may be divided into five kinds, 
aiore or less distinct. These are "ChUhowee Sandstone/' 
"Knox Sandstone/' " Clinch Ilountain Sandstone," " White 
Oak Mountain/' ixnd"]}yesfone" and "Cumberland Iloun- 
tain Sandstone." 



IX TEXXESSEE. 109 

1. Onlhowee Sandstone Soil is confined to the Chilliowee 
ridges and is very limited in extent. Some few areas are 
found that will repay the- labors of the husbandman in the 
cultivation of potatoes, buckwheat, and garden vegetables. 
The Chilhowee mountains, which pass through Blount 
county and a portion of Sevier, are sparsely settled and but a 
small proportion of the soil has ever been cultivated. But 
it is much used as a common pasture ground, blue 
grass grov.'ing on some of the ridges in the 
counties of Johnson and Carter. This soil prevails also 
upon the nortliwcstwardly interrupted range of the Unakas. 
It may be well to observe that the Uiiakas are a double 
ranse of mountains, that on the southeast side being con- 
tinuous and the range on the northwestern side being broken 
or interrupted. 

2. The Knox Sands'one soil is unimportant, being con- 
fined to long, narrow, sharp ridges, which are often called 
Piney or Comby Ridges. This soil is confined to the valley 
of East Tennessee and is very little cultivated. It pro- 
duces timber in limited qualities, but not much grass, and 
is not so valuable for pasture ground as the preceding. 

3. Clinch Mountain Sandstone soil occurs mostly on the 
southeast side of Clinch mountain, which traverses Grain- 
ger, Hancock and Hawkins counties ; on Powell's moun- 
tain, which lies in Claiborne and Hancock counties ; on 
Lone mountain, a continuation of the latter, in the counties 
of Anderson and Union, and on some of the ridges of the 
Bay's mountain group, which lies mostly in Hawkins 
county. It is thin, sandy and poor, sparsely timbered, and 
has immediately underlying it large sheets of sandstone. It 
has a pale yellowish color, and when the depth of the soil 
is sufficient will yield Irish potatoes and garden vegetables. 
It may be mentioned that the north\\est side of these moun- 
tains has a very fertile and calcareous soil, highly produc- 
tive, the fields in many cases reaching the crests of the 
mountains. It is curious to observe the exuberance of the 



110 WHEAT CULTURE 

vegetable growth on the one side and the poverty on the 
other. Stately trees with leafy tops covered with vines and 
creeperSj making an impenetrable thicket, characterizes the 
one side in its wild state, while the other, covered with an 
impenetrable shield of sandstone, has here and there a very 
few scanty shrubs and starveling trees, typifying the in- 
discribable sterility and scantiness of the soil. 

4. The Mliite Oah Mountain and Dijestone soil occurs on 
the southeast side of White Oak mountain in James and 
Bradley counties and on the slopes of the smaller Dyestone 
ridges. These ridges are so called from the occurrence of 
red and stratified iron ore. The rocks underlying this 
variety of sandstone soils are more varied in chemical com- 
position and give more vitality and fertility to the soil, 
which are manifested in a better growth of timber, though 
but small areas of this variety have been brought into culti- 
vation, owing to the ruggedness of the country in which it 
prevails. It may be added that the aggregate extent of this 
soil is very limited, and can be represented by mere lines on 
the map. The White Oak mountain and the ridges men- 
tioned are interesting mainly on account of the abundance 
of iron ore. 

5. The Cumberland llovnfain soil is the most important 
of this group, inasmuch as it extends over an area of over 
5,000 square miles, covering nearly the whole surface on the 
top of the Cumberland tablelands. This soil is sandy and 
thin, the sand being coarse and angular. Nevertheless, at 
the foot of some of the knobs and ridges that rise above the 
general level of the table land, there are areas of moderate 
fertility. The valleys too, upon the top of the plateau and 
upon the north hill sides, are much above the average fer- 
tility. This region is almost totally destitute of lime, ex- 
tremely porous and difficult to improve. 

There are so many contradictory statements in regard to 
the fruitfulness of the soil that it is hard to give an opinion 
that will be concurred in by every one. There are two 



IN TENNESSEE. Ill 

leading classes of soil on the table land, the most valuable 
of which has a yellowish red sub-soil with a thin coating of 
humus on the surface. This character of land can be im- 
j) roved and rendered highly productive, but continual vigi- 
lance and care are required to prevent the escape of the 
elements of fertility. This may be effected by seeding to 
clover, which should be treated to frequent and liberal 
dressings of plaster of Paris. The soil is extremely tender 
and constant care is required to prevent w^ashing. For the 
production of all kinds of fruits, including grasses, root 
crops and garden vegetables, this land is scarcely surpassed. 
The finest Irish potatoes grown in the South are raised on 
this table land. Apples are very prolific, and the trees are 
thrifty and long lived. It is the orchard land of the 
State, and millions of barrels of the very best apples may 
be raised annually at a small cost. The dry atmosphere 
prevents premature decay. For the growing of fruits 
and potatoes, no land is superior to it, but for the cereals it 
is uncertain and unproductive. Nevertheless some excellent 
crops have been made, and the Swiss who have settled on 
this mountain land are growing clover and the grasses wdth 
some degree of success. The lands are cheap, the climate 
healthy and the timber and water abundant and the high- 
way pasturage excellent. 

The second class of these soils has a light yellow whitish 
and sometimes bluish sub-soil with little or no humus. It 
is extremely porous, leaky, and, when wet, is often inclined 
to be miry. In its native state it produces nothing but 
shrubby trees and a scanty growth of hardy weeds and 
coarse grass. Most of the surface is covered with lichens 
and sometimes with mosses. Manure applied to these lands 
soon disappears, leaving scarcely a trace after the second 
season. It is a serious question to determine the best uses of 
which these lands are capable. For grains they are useless, 
and scarcely better for fruit and cultivated grasses. The 
native grasses and herbs, with such of the hardy cultivated 



112 WHEAT CULTUHE 

kinds that might be induced to grow upon thorn, v;oukl 
aflford pasturage sufficient during the summer for sheep and 
goats — perhaps for cattle. Besides these two leading classes 
of soils pertaining to the table lands, there is another, more 
limited in extent, but possessing peculiar characteristics 
which entitle it to special consideration. 

This class comprehends the glades and wet lands along 
the streams. The soil, when wet, is of a dark blue color? 
sometimes nearly black, but when dry it is ash colored. 
Blue clay is generally found in connection with it as a sub- 
stratum. These soils arc often entirely destitute of timber 
and covered with rank coarse grass and spotted with beds 
of fern, the tussocks of which form a close mat over the 
surface. The absence of timber is owing to the super- 
abundance of water with which the ground is saturated 
throughout the greater part of the year. • These lands pre- 
sent another problem, but we are more hopeful of them 
than of those we last described. It is true that many efforts 
to reclaim them have failed, but this is owing to a failure 
to understand their peculiar character. It is not enough to 
drain off the water: they contain large quantities of half de- 
composed vegetable matter which imparts to them a high 
degree of acidity, and this must be corrected by a liberal 
use of alkali, and for this purpose either ashes or lime may 
be used. When thus treated they are nearly equal to allu- 
vial soils in fertility, and are especially valuable for mea- 
dows. 

On all the soils so far enumerated wheat docs not repay 
the cost of cultivation. From three to four bushels is the 
average yield, and the amount sown is so inconsiderable as 
hardly to deserve notice. 

In another chapter we have spoken of the porous, leachy 
soils of the barrens, which may be called the flinty or sili- 
ceous soils. Oats grow well on this class of soils, but wheat 
rarely does well. Associated with this flinty soil is often- 
times a chocolate-colored soil, which is equal iu wheat pro- 



IN TENNESSEE. 113 

ilucing to any soils in the State. Large portions of Stewart, 
Montgomery, Robertson, Macon, Clay, Overton, Putnam, 
White, Warren, Dickson, Humphreys, and Hickman are 
occupied by this soil. On this character of soil, with good 
tillage, from ten to twenty bushels of wheat may be grown. 

Sandy 'Soils. — Under this head are included the vari- 
eties of mellow upland and highland soils to be met 
with in West Tennessee. They are based not on 
solid rocks, but upon unconsolidated strata, mainly sandy. 
The resulting soils are of the same character. They are 
called sandy, or arenaceous, because this mineral feature 
preponderates, and are generally red or yellow, from the 
presence of a notable quantity of ferric oxide and silicate. 
It does not follow that because a soil is sandy it is therefore 
poor. The clay and calcareous matter that some contain 
give them a degree of body and vitality that render them 
for many crops highly valuable lands. The way they lie, 
too, is an important consideration. If high, plateau-like, 
or gently rolling and well drained, such lands are often 
highly esteemed by the farmer, when, if steep or very hilly, 
they are not prized, In the latter case the soils have the 
same components, but under tillage are easily washed away, 
and made comparatively worthless. Many of these sandy 
soils are fine wheat producers. 

The calcareo-siliccous sol occupies the eastern parts of 
the counties of Obion, Dyer, Lauderdale, Tipton, and 
Shelby. It presents an ashen aspect as to color and consis- 
tence, but sometimes it is of a reddish cast, occasionally 
black, and oftentimes mulatto in color. It contains more 
calcareous matter than the other unconsolidated formations 
of West Tennessee, with the single exception of the green 
sand, or rotten limestone. It is not unusual to meet in it 
concretions of carbonate of lime. At some points they may 
be gathered by the bushel. The soil is similar in character 
to the formation, calcareous, siliceous, fine-grained, ashen, 
and sometimes slightly reddish and black earth. Its lands 
S 



114 WHEAT CULTURE 

are among the most fertile in the State. The soil owes its 
good qualities not to its chemical composition alone, but to 
its finely pulverulent mechanical condition. Tobacco, cot- 
ton, wheat, com, potatoes, oats, clover, and the grasses, grow 
luxuriantly upon it, while the native growth, especially in 
Obion and Dyer, is of marvelous luxuriance. 

Calcareous Soils. — These rest upon the different varieties 
of limestone found in the State, and differ mainly in having 
a greater or less quantity of siliceous material, or clay, in 
their composition, making them friable, or stiff, as one or 
the other material preponderates. In durability^, extent and 
productiveness, they surpass all other soils in the State, ex- 
cept the alluvial. They constitute the wheat, tobacco, cot- 
ton, and blue grass region of the State, and are found in all 
the minor valleys of the Valley of East Tennessee, in the 
Central Basin, and on much of the Highland Rim and in 
the Western Valley. But few of these soils are found in 
West Tennessee, they being confined to a small strip west 
of Tennessee River. These soils are classified according to 
to the prevailing limestone, and form the best farming 
areas within the State. They cover in the aggregate one- 
fourth of the surface of the State. 

Green Sand Soil. — This soil is a kind of siliceous loam, 
resting upon an interesting formation in West Tennessee, 
which is, in the main, sand and clay intermixed, having as 
characteristic ingredients a considerable amount of carbonate 
of lime and numerous green grains (glauconite), resembling 
in consistence particles of gunpowder, which give the mass 
a light green color. It must be mentioned that the forma- 
tion from Avhich this soil is derived is mixed vi^ith shells, so 
much so that they furnish materials for burning lime. This 
greatly influences the character of the soil, supplying it 
with fertile ingredients, and making it friable and fertile. 
It is well adapted to the growth of cotton and corn, and 
some portions to the growth of wheat. The land where 
this soil prevails is by far the most rugged portion of West 



IN TENNESSEE. 115 

Tennessee, and many glady spots occur, especially upon the 
Tennessee Ridge west, and its various spurs. This soil is 
confined almost entirely to the eastern part of McNairy and 
Henderson counties. 

Shaly Soils. — Shales are common in many parts of the 
State. The black shale underlies the lands of the " Rim," 
.sometimes however, cropping out ; other shales are found 
in great abundance associated with the coal strata in the 
Cumberland Table-land, but as a top formation shale is 
rare. In a few of the narrow valleys of East Tennessee 
the black shale forms the basis of the soil. This soil is 
cold, clayey, unproductive and unimportant, except for 
grasses. In extent it is very limited, and it may be im- 
proved by utilizing the accompanying beds of calcareous 
nodules, some of which are nearly pure phosphates. 

Alluvial Soil. — This occupies in the aggregate a larger 
area than any other in the State; for to the nine hundred 
square miles embraced by the great Mississippi bottoms 
there must be added the lowlands of the Tennessee and 
Cumberland riverSj and that of all their tributaries. 

Alluvial soils prevail also in the valleys of East 
Tennessee. The whole state is furrowed by rivers, 
creeks, and rills, each of which has lying on its margin 
more or less alluvial soil. Some of the highland coun- 
ties are alternate ridges and valleys, such as Perry. The 
alluvial soils differ greatly in character, aptitudes, and 
productive capacity, depending in great degree upon 
the formation of the surrounding uplands and the fre- 
quency or infrequency of overflows. Where the waters 
flow through or over limestone, the deposit is highly 
calcareous. This deposit makes a good wheat soil. When 
the streams gather their waters from sandstone-hills, or 
gravelly ridges, the soil is not so productive, being more 
deficient in carbonate of lime. The character of the alluvial 
soil is determined by the region through which the stream 
flows. On many of the streams are terraces, elevated high 



116 WHEAT CULTURE 

above the stream-beds, and not subject to overflow, which 
have all the chrractcristic features of the low alluvial soils. 
These fluviatile deposits are exceedingly rich in plant food, 
and make our most generous soils. Their perfect drainage 
and freedom from overflows make them very valuable and 
desirable. For the growth of wheat they are especially 
desirable. We have seen forty bushels of this cereal raised 
per acre on this elevated alluvial soil. 

The streams of the Highland E-im have their lowlands 
hisrhly charged with flinty material. The soil is free and 
comparatively light, being formed for the most part of the 
silt deposited by the water, intermingled with chert and 
fragments of shivered limestone. Upon this character of 
soil are grown great abundance of peanuts, corn, and potatoes. 
It never compacts, but remains friable and loose throughout 
the growing season. Though not so j^roductive of timothy 
as the more clayey bottoms, this rocky alluvium is more 
highly esteemed for all the crops that require cultivation. 

There are almost an endless variety and modification of 
these classes, making warm and cold, light and heavy, low, 
loamy, hungry, marly, Icachy, limey, sweet, sour, sandy, 
clayey, marshy, compact, tenaceous, fine, coarse, gravelly, 
rocky, and crawfishy ; but all may be embraced in the 
classification above given. The productiveness of soils does 
not depend on the amount of the constituent elements alto- 
gether, such as lime, potash, soda, phosphoric and sulphuric 
acids, and vegetable matter, but upon climatic influences, 
surface exposure, subsoil, drainage, degree of pulverization 
and culture. Drainage is especially important. Standing 
water is destructive of our field-crops. On the other hand, 
the soil must not be so porous as to permit the fertilizers to 
filter to a dei)th beyond the reach of plants. For the pur- 
pose of production, the best condition of a soil is to be 
thoroughly pulverized and well drained of its surplus 
water, yet with an under-clay that will catch and hold all 
fertilizing ingredients. 



IN TENNESSEE. 117 

The usual quantity of wheat raised in the State varies 
from 5,000,000 to 13,000,000 bushels, grown upon a surface 
varying from 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 acres, with an average 
of seven to nine bushels per acre. To sum up: the best 
wheat-growing regions of the State are the Central Basin, 
the valleys of East Tennessee, and the counties lying on 
the northern border of Middle and West Tennessee. The 
average in these regions is about fifteen bushels on the best 
soils. It could be raised to twenty or twenty-five bushels 
by intelligent labor on the farm. Though the average 
yield of wheat is far from being what a thorough prepara- 
tion of the land and early seeding could make it, yet the 
excellence of the berry compensates in some degree for the 
scantiness of the yield. The flour made from Tennessee 
wheat commands in every market a superior price. This 
fact and its cause is clearly stated by Henry C. Carey, the 
distinguished political economist: 

''Even before the war a great change had commenced in 
regard to the sources from which Northern sup2)lies of 
cereals were to come, Tennessee and North Carolina furnish- 
ing large supplies of wheat, greatly superior in quality to 
that grown on Northern lands, and commanding higher 
prices in all our markets. The daily quotations show that 
Southern flour, raised in Tennessee, Missouri, and Virginia, 
brings from three to five dollars per barrel more than the 
best New York Genessee flour; that of Louisiana and 
Texas is far superior to the former, and does not ferment so 
easily. Southern flour makes better dough and maccaroni 
than Western flour; it is better adapted to transportation 
over the sea, and keeps better in the tropics. It is there- 
fore the flour souglit after for Brazil, Central America, 
Mexico, and the West India markets, which are at our 
doors. A barrel of strictly Southern flour will make twenty 
pounds more bread than Illinois flour, because, being so 
much dryer, it takes up more water in making it." 

Add to this the fact that the Tennessee harvest precedes 



118 WHEAT CITLTURE 

that of New York and the North-western States by nearly 
a month, and the wheat crop comes in upon a bare market, 
and it becomes evident that so far as quality and time of 
selling go, our statement of the superiority of Tennessee as 
a wheat section is borne out. 

For these and many other considerations mentioned in 
the course of this article, we do not believe the farmers of 
Tennessee, especially those living in the favored sections, 
can do better than turn their attention particularly to rais- 
ing wheat. The present supply of labor renders it imper- 
ative for the adoption of a system of agriculture that will 
render it practicable to cultivate a large breadth of land with 
the employment of few hands. The cultivation of wheat 
to a large extent will enable the farmer to do this, for, by 
the introduction of machinery, and by the employment of 
some extra hands at harvest and at threshing-time, a large 
crop may be gathered at a comparative small cost. Let 
farmers sow more clover and grow more wheat, as well by 
increasing the yield as by increasing the acreage, and a 
healthy independence will be secured. 



iSr TE^'NE^SEE. 119 



CHAPTER Xy. 

PREPARATION OF SOIL. — TIME AND MAXNEE OF SOWING. — 
LETTERS FROM FARMERS. 

The subject of this chapter is one which can be supplied 
by every farmer in the State, and in all probability better 
than is here given. Should any one else be called upon to 
write this chapter, he would in the first place give his own 
personal experience, together with observation on his neigh- 
bors habits, and rest upon that. This shall be the rule, 
only in addition to that we shall give such rules as 
can be deduced from the schedule of letters at the end of 
the work. 

Let it be assumed, in the first place, that the farmer has 
selected a good, suitable piece of land. Knowing what wheat 
requires he has most probably selected a clover lot, meadow 
sward, oat field, or fallow land. At the time when the 
spontaneous growth is at its height, for instance, when the 
weeds are between the flower and the seed, in July, or latest 
in August, he will break up his land thoroughly with large 
plows and good teams, ox, mule or horse. There must be 
a watchfulness on the part of the farmer at this time, for on 
the work done before sowing depends the success of the 
wheat. Land badly prepared, broken up too wet, or "cut 
and covered," will not perform its work properly. Poor 
land well 'pulverised will make more tvheat than rich, cloddy 
land. Remember this, and if it is necessary to hwry at 
mowing time, loiow that to a farmer, great hurry m poor 
speed. Turn over the growth well, be it weedsi, grass or 
•clover. Let it rot, and then, when everything is ready to 
.sow, the land will be found mellow, rich and well pul- 
verised. 



120 WHEAT OULTUEE 

It, is of no use to say, break any number of times, Iiarrow 
or roll any number of times. There is but one question tO' 
be fulfilled, and that is to have the ground thoroughly crum- 
bled. It will require work, breaking up, han-owing, rolling ; 
let it be done. When ground is well prepared, and the seed 
selected, it will then be ready to sow. 

There is such a thing as sowing too early. It looks very 
charming to have a field of wheat looking fresh and green 
throughout the winter. It will charm the eye and delight 
all beholders, but when harvest arrives there will be a ter- 
rible disappointment to find that the "sweet field arrayed in 
living green" had been for all winter a city of refuge for all 
insects. That, in other words, the wheat having come up 
and formed a "boot" before frosts had killed the Hessian flies, 
they had gladly availed themselves of the hiding place, had 
deposited their eggs in the boot, which had safely protected 
them through the winter, and in the spring had hatched^ 
and then the young stalk, instead of sending forth strong,, 
healthy tillers, each loaded with golden grain, had put forth 
some abortion of stems, each sucked at its base by vile 
worms, until at last its vitality was so exhausted, it fell short 
of its destined fruitfulness. 

Then, so time the sowing, as to meet this danger. Some 
may say, "we sowed last year the 15th September, and wa& 
not troubled with fi.y." So they did, and they may sow the 
same time next year and escape, for the fly does not devas- 
tate the whole country every year, but only now and then. 
It takes the country by sections; but if the wheat is not up 
when it comes, it will escape; if it is up, the whole crop may 
be destroyed. A prudent general should always be provided 
against surprises, and so should a prudent farmer. There- 
fore, never sow until the chance for the fly is over. In 
other words, so time the sowing as to let the wheat come up 
after the frosts have begun to fall. 

This time will range from 1st to 20th October, according^ 
locality. In the schedule of answers, the majority of gen- 



IN TENNESSEE. 121 

tlemen say from 15th September to 15tb October. But it 
is safe to say not before 1st of October, nor later than the 
1st of November. However, the nearer to the 10th of Octo- 
ber the better. By this time the fly will be destroyed, and 
yet the wheat will have ample time to send out its roots, 
and accumulate a head for winter. 

It is unnecessary to say but few words as to the quantity 
to sow, and the manner of doing so. Before the late war 
drills were unknown in Tennessee. Since their introduc- 
tion, they have gained such headway that few can do with- 
out one, if the quantity sowed will justify them in the pur- 
chase. Sometimes several neighbors will club together and 
buy one, and it will suffice easily to sow 150 acres in full 
time, or possibly two hnndred. The reasons for using a drill 
are few and simple. It deposits the seed at precisely the 
right depth, and all, or nearly all germinates. In stiff land 
this should be IJ inches, in friable land 2 inches. 

It places the seed evenly, and requires less seed. In 
planting 100 acres it will save at least 40 or 50 bushels, for 
with a drill from one-half to three-quarters of a bushel is 
deemed amply sufficient, wdiile by the hand it is customary 
to sow a bushel to a bushel and a half. In sowing 200 
acres, it is claimed by the advocates of the drill that enough 
will be saved to pay for the drill. 

The Agricultural Department, in 1873, issued circulars, 
and sent to all the States, making inquiries as to the rela- 
tive use and benefits of drills and broadcast sowings. From 
the answers it apjjeared that from all sources only 47 per 
cent, of wheat was sown with drills. Many and urgent ob- 
jections were made to the use of drills, and some good rea- 
sons given, which shows that under some circumstances 
wdieat drilled did not do well. The cotton States, with the 
exception of Tennessee, did not know the use of drills at 
all, and there were but few in Texas. As a general thing, 
partisans of the drill method estimated the increase at 10 
per cent., though some placed it as high as one hundred 



122 



WHEAT CULTURE 



per cent. Nine-tenths cf the testimony adduced favors 
the drill. It must be preceded by thorough culture, and 



Fig. 4. 






IN TENNESSEE. 



123 



where the surface is uneven, rocky or stumpy, the only plan 
to use is the broadcasting plan. — (Agricultural Report, 
1873.) 

Fig. 4, on page 122, faithfully depicts the effects of deep 




and shal low sowing. In other words, drill and broadcast : 
X o. 1 is wheat put in deep enough under the surface to in- 

If too close to the surface it will 



ure it in taking root. 



124 WHEAT CULTURE 

sprout. Should it become dry afterward it will die, or should 
early freeze ensue it would be destroyed. Then let it be as- 
sumed, IJ to 2 inches, is the proper depth to secure 
it against both freezes and droughts. When it is sown 
broadcast,. some will be at a proper depth, some four inches, 
and some on the surface. 

That plowed in deeply is represented in No. 2. It is 
a long distance for the young and delicate ''plumule" to 
reach, and while pushing its way up, it has to receive sus- 
tenanance entirely from the store of starch in the grain, and 
by the time it gets to the surface its vitality is well nigh ex- 
hausted, and it becomes a poor, sickly stem, only affording 
those faulty grains the miller has so much trouble to get 
clear of. 

Not only is it weak and feeble in its growth, but there is 
another danger. Observe a long stem between the true 
roots and the surface roots it is fain to throw out in its 
struggle for life. During the winter, should a freeze affect 
only an inch or two inches, the frozen earth grasps the sur- 
face roots of the tender plant, the subsoil clings to the deep- 
seated roots, and the stem is severed. 

It is then doubly injured, and barely makes a head with- 
out grains. No. 3 gives an idea of a properly drilled 
shoot properly stooling. 

In Fig. 5, see the result of deep and shallow plowing. 
This is no exaggerated picture, but a true and faithful rep- 
resentation of the relative difference between deep and shal- 
low sowing. Of course the same objections urged against 
plowing in deep would hold against surface sowing. It is 
true it will germinate, but between the sun and the birds, 
mice and insects, but little is left to gladden the heart of 
the farmer. Some land will not admit of the drill, either 
too rocky, or too steep, or filled with stumps of trees. In 
these cases the judgment of the farmer will indicate to him 
the only feasible method. When forced to plow in, after 
all the necessary preparation is made, it is best to use the 



IN TENNESSEE. 



125 



bull-tongiie or double-shovel, run east and west if possible. 
It covers up, pulverises, and does not put it in too deep. 

Fig. 6. 





If it is intended to put the wheat in corn grounds, tvv^o 
methods present themselves, either to plow among the 
standing corn, or cut the corn, stack it, and break the 
ground. As in the former case, this has to rest u])on cer- 
tain contingencies, that can only be properly judged of in 
eacli particular case, and by the farmer himself. In the 
former case the farmer must content himself to use cradles 
in his harvest.. In the latter, he can select either that or 
the reaper. But corn-land wheat rarely ever pays. Wheat 
as a rule should never follow corn. 

A very general opinion sanctions the use of the roller or 
the harrow in the spring. Some say it adds one-tenth to 
the yield. When a method receives such a universal sanc- 
tion from the public, the verdict may be safely accepted. 
In the spring, after the frosts are out, should the ground be 
very loose and friable, the young wheat standing tip-toe out 



126 WHEAT CULTURE 

of the soil, a heavy roller will settle it in its place and great- 
ly benefit it. On the other hand if, from early heavy rains 
the ground is hard-packed or baked, it will be equal to a 
cultivation, to run the harrow over it. It will loosen the 
surface, admit the air to the roots, so that the healthful 
functions "of nature may be exerted. Besides, it destroys 
the crop of young grass and weeds that are just peeping 
up. It looks like rough handling for the wheat, but if a 
fine-tooth harrow is used it rarely tears up any. It also 
prepares the ground for the reception of clover or grass 
seed, shiCuld it be necessary to sow any. 

A practice which is adopted by some of our most skill- 
ful farmers is to roll the land just before the drill. This 
solidifies the soil ou top, but leaves it loose beneath. This 
greatly aids the wheat in the process of germination. 

Winter killing is a great drawback in the North to the 
cultivation of wheat, but in this State it is a very rare 
occurrence that it is totally destroyed. The reason is the 
porosity of the soils, that permits the roots fo thrust its 
spongioles far down in search of nourishment. 

Should a field require it, it should be drained, as a matter 
of course, as that is the most fruitful source of winter kill- 
ing. A light coat of manure is also a good preventive, as 
it stimulates the wheat to vigorous growth, before the severe 
cold comes on to kill it. As to the application of manures, 
every farmer is aware of the importance of giving the 
ground all it needs. It is beneticial to sow guano, plaster, 
manure from the compost heap, ashes, salt, or in fact any- 
thing that will invigorate the wheat. 

As to the use of lime, it is good for the wheat beyond 
question, but it will surely exhaust the land if persevered 
in without rotation. Its action on the soil is to act as a 
solvent for the inorganic substances already composing it. 
As a matter of course, the more that is taken out the less 
remains. It is true, it stimulates the plant to draw from 
the atmosphere, and if the plant is plowed in, it will enrich 



m TENNESSEE. 127 

the soil by returning to it all it took out, besides what was 
taken from the air. 

Que error of some farmers is, that ammonia and carbonic 
acid, extracted from the air, are passed by means of the roots 
into the soil. By aid of the most powerful microscope, no 
one has been able to. detect any circulation from the stem 
toward the roots, though the reverse is easily seen. Agri- 
cultural writers talk a great deal about manuring, but prac- 
tice has yet to see a large field manured from the compost 
heap,' or with any other fertilizer, except it be ashes, 
plaster, superphosphates, guano, or salt. It is utterly im- 
or practicable, except for a small experimental patch, 
arid then, if too heavily put on, it vrill surely injure the 
wheat. 

The great and only fertilizers practicable for wheat 
are clover and peas. Tons of the best manure are con- 
tained in the clover field, all spread to hand; and 
there is but one trouble — that is, to plow them 
in. Unlike other manures, clover pays for itself while 
being collected. It will fatten hogs, sheep, cattle, or 
horses. It will furnish the best of hay for winter store, 
and then it will sow itself so that, with ordinary atten- 
tion as to plowing in the second crop of seed, it is easy 
to perpetuate thS stand indefinitely. Should the ground 
become so filled with nitrogenous substances, and become 
deficient in silica or calcium, the wheat will not stand up 
by reason of rust. It can still be placed to any other crop, 
keep it so for years, and when again seeded, clover will still 
be on hand. 

Tobacco extracts, as its principal support, saltpetre from 
the soil, and leaves the phosphorus untouched, so that it 
precedes wheat very well; but by alternating the wheat and 
tobacco, the soil would soon be impoverished. Witness the 
exhausted fields of Virginia and North Carolina as a result 
of such a ruinous system of agriculture. So with corn. 
But rotation with clover will absolutely prevent this. 



128 WHEAT CULTURE 

A planter had two fields of twenty acres each, which he 
alternated with corn and wheat. This was kept up for fif- 
teen or twenty years, and resulted in both fields being com- 
pletely and effectually worn out. AVheat takes up certain 
principles in the soil, and so do corn and tobacco, and it 
is very unreasonable to expect the soil to furnish liberally 
of its riches every year, and last forever. It is like contin- 
ually checking upon a bank deposit without ever adding to 
the account. At last the checks will be returned dishonored. 
The magnificent prairie lands of Illinois and Missouri, that 
once yielded forty and fifty bushels per acre, barely yield 
now from ten to twenty. 

In regard to the culture of wheat, I have introduced 
letters from some of the best farmers in the State, who have 
spent a long life in the business, and know whereof they 
speak. But before giving these, it may be well to recur to 
the reasons given by some of our best farmers why they do 
not use the drill. It must be confessed that there is good 
ground for believing that the increased yield claimed by 
the drill is due, in part at least, to the more thorough prep- 
aration of the soil. Major C. K. Vanderford, of Ruther- 
ford county, one of the most successful wheat-raisers in the 
State, in a communication to the Rural 8un, dated Septem- 
ber 17, 1877, in referring to a large yield of wheat grown 
by Byrd Douglas, says : 

''The best and most important part of the work was in 
the management of the soil for two or more years before 
putting it under the plow for the wheat crop. Thorough 
plowing at the proper time and in the best manner, and all 
Ouiier subsequent processes, essential though they were, would 
not have guaranteed success, but for the forethought which 
had provided good ground upon which to sow good seed. 
The drilling did not make the large yield, no more than 
did the timely threshing. This drilling was only one 
of a series of well conceived and properly conducted pro- 
cesses. And it will be evident to any one, who will exam- 



IN TENNESSEE. 129 

iiie into the conditions of success in wheat-culture, that 
these conditions are not one or two, but many. 

" ]^otwithstanding the fact that a large proportion of the 
winter wheat sown north of the Ohio is put in with the 
drill, it is by no means an acknowledged fact that the use 
of this implement is to be credited with increased product 
per acre. Whoever intends to drill in wheat must of neces- 
sity p«t the ground in good condition. I have before me 
the ' warranty ' of one of the most popular grain drills in 
use: ' To sow wheat, rye, etc., regularly and evenly, also to 
cover well, provided always that the drill is properly used, 
and under ordinary favorable circumstances.' On receiving 
notice of any failure to perform well, the manufacturer or 
his agent will go to remedy the trouble; but 'when on ex- 
amination the difficulty is found to be in the ground, seed, 
or manner of using the drill, the person who ordered the 
machine shall pay the expense of this visit, and the war- 
ranty shall cease.' Now, this is all fair enough. I quote it 
only to call attention to the fact that the proper condition of 
the ground is an absolute prerequisite to the use of the 
machine. Now, avc learn from, the very highest authority 
that tlie improvement by drilling is made to average ten per 
cent. (Report of Commissioner of Agriculture for 1875, 
page 42.) How much or how little of this improvement is 
really due to the better preparation of the soil, and how 
much or how little to the use of the drill, is problematical. 

" This question of drilling versus broadcasting has been 
recently made the subject of experiment by several of the 
better classes of agricultural colleges, by experimental farms 
in several States, and by a number of intelligent farmers. 
I have watched carefully for the result. So far, the weight 
of testimony is in favor of broadcasting— the preparation of 
the soil being alike for both methods of seeding. 

" When we put in wheat with an eight-inch drill, using 

four pecks of seed per acre, there will be about nine grains 

of wheat to the lineal foot of drill — fourteen to each square 
9 



130 WHEAT CULTUEE 

foot of surface; and if every seed grows the plants will 
stand one and one-quarter inches apart in the drill. If we 
use three pecks of seed, the plants will be not quite two 
inches apart — in both cases much too crowded for thriftiest 
growth. If we broadcast one bushel per acre there will be 
fourteen plants to the square foot, but distributed more or less 
evenly over the whole space. The few pieces of drilled wheat 
which I have seen were full of weeds, which had opportu- 
nity to grow in the open spaces, while upon similar soils in 
broadcast fields near by, few or no weeds could be seen. 
Drilling or "dibbling" wheat has long been practiced in 
England. Hoeing and weeding wheat by hand and by 
machinery is a necessary practice there; and it is noteworthy 
that the grain-fields of the mother country are more and 
more infested with weeds every year. 



IN TENNESSEE. 131 



CHAPTER XVI. 

LETTERS FROM SUCCESSFUL WHEAT RAISERS AS TO CUL- 
TURE, EXPENSE, AND MANAGEMENT OF THE CROP. 

I know of n way better calculated to instruct our farm- 
ers in successful wheat culture than by collecting and pub- 
lishins: the detailed operations of those who have been most 
successful in the production of wheat. For this reason I 
addressed, or caused to be addressed letters to a consider- 
able number of eminent wheat-raisers in the State, asking 
for a detailed account of their experience in wheat growing. 
Many responded, but several from whom I expected the 
best accounts failed to respond, much to my regret, and to 
the regret, doubtless, of my readers. 

The first letter is from Jno. B. McEwen, of Williamson 
county, who is known to be one of the most energetic and 
successful wheat growers in the State. His letter is full and 
to the point. 

Feajjklin, Tenn., July 24, 1877. 
J. B. Killcbreu\ Esq.: 

Dear Sir : — At your request I address you a few lines upon the culture 
of wheat, and the varieties adapted to this locality. Middle Tennessee is 
naturally a wheat country, and when the proper attention is given no 
section of the United S;ates can excel Middle Teanesse, either in yield or 
quality of grain, and lam fully of the opinion that the lands of Middle Ten- 
nessee will yield in proportion to the attention given to the crop. Such a 
thing as manuring land for wheat is unknown. In the past, as a general 
rnle, the lands have been too rich for wheat, and it would run too much 
to straw. Now, as a general thing, the lands are too poor, and will not 
make str.iw enough. We must therefore temper up the lands to make the 
wheat crop remunerative, and according to my experience nothing an- 
swers the purpose so well as clovering the lands. I have been told by a 
large thresher man, that in threshing nearly 100,000 bushels this season 
he never struck a clover sod field, which did not yield more than 20 
bushels per acre. On the contrary, equally as good land, where the 
wheat foUuwed covn, the yield rarely went up to ten bushels per acre. 
Wheat alter wheal on a clover soil does as well for three successive crops as. 



132 WHEAT CtTLTUEE 

at first. Wheat after wheat on corn-stalk land will yield better after the 
first crop for five years, but will rarely even come up to the succession of 
crops following clover. Wheat does Avell after tobacco, cotton and pota- 
toes, but not so well eitlier in yield or quality as after clover. 

The next thing after getting a clover sod is to break the land deep and 
subsoil it, re-break, harrow and drill tlie seed. By this mode I have suc- 
ceeded in mi\king a yield of from 40 to 50 bushels to the acre, an average 
of 44 J bushels totlie acre. The time for breaking is August, when the green 
grass and weeds can all be turned under green, the green weeds and grass 
being equal to a general cast of light manure. .The time for seeding ia 
from the 1st to the 20tji of October, neither sooner nor later ; if sooner 
you encounter the fly ; if later, the fall drouth. 

The same amount of labor and mnnure put upon land here, as upon 
lands in Penni-ylvania, New York, Maryland or Virginia, would bring 
forth a yield double to treble, and an article far superior in quality to any 
of these States. Such a thing as clearing our lands of slumps and loose 
stones is unknown here, but is the first consideration in the States named, 
and should be here. Our lands are very kind here, and will make some 
wheat if the seed are scattered over it with or without manure or plowing, 
and at any time from the middle of September to the first of January. 

I have been a wheat-raiser during the past twenty-five years, and tried 
every variety, and tried it upon all kinds of land, and cultivated it in 
every mode, from the best to the meanest, and the results varied according- 
ly, and I am now satisfied that the land will produce just in proportion to 
the labor and skill bestowed upon it. Another suggestion : always plow 
your land when it is dry, never when wet. If you do plow the land too 
wet, your crop will surely be a failure on your best land. 

The wheat crop is sul>ject to many ills in Middle Tennessee, and the 
greatest of them all is the rust. To avoid that is to sow wheat which will 
ripen earliest, and sow it by the 10th of October. There are several vari- 
eties which will ripen from the 1st to the 7th of June. These varietif^ 
will rarely rust. Some varieties will succeed finely in some localities, 
and be total failures in others, hence you must study your locality. 

The next ill we are subject to is the grasshopper and fly which, com- 
bined, very often blasts your prospect for a crop. To avoid these, do not 
«ow before the lOih of October, and you will escape both, nine times out 
of ten. 

The next is smut. No man need ever have a sing e grain of smut. It 
has been fully ascertained that bluestone is a certain remedy against smui. 
I hav€ tried it for years, and never had a grain of smut in my crop when 
the remedy is applied. The mode of app ing is not soaking, but it is to 
take one pound of bluestone and thoroughly dissolve it in boiling water, 
and when cooled down, have ten bushels ot wheat cleaned ready, and in a 
pile. Sprinkle the bluestone water slowly over the pile and stir it thorough- 



IN TENNESSEE. 133 

ly until the two gallons of mixture is all taken up by the wheat. Tiie 
■wheat is then ready for sowing, not wet and sticky, and pcarrely shows that 
it h&'i been dampened. This is my practice and that of others, and when 
attended to, you cannot find a grain of smut, and 3'ou may be sure when 
yon find smut, this remedy has been neglected. The application seldom 
costs exceeding two cents per bushel, surely a small sum to insure against 
smut. You often lieir men say they never have smut on their land, and 
they do not trouble themselves to use the remedy against it. 

Perhaps they get the experience the next year of losing half the value 
of their crop. These ills, with that of laziness, constitute the main force 
witli which we have to contend. Cockle, rye, chess and such things, are 
the r&sult simply of laziness and carelessness. 

Wheat culture heretofore in Middle Tennessee has been greatly neglcded. 
Attention is now being turned towards its culture, and grant st'ides are 
making in the right direciion, and soon it will become the staple money- 
making crop. Transportation in the past has been the principal cause of 
its neglect. 

I had eleven varieties of wheat thisj'ear, makiug a succession to meet 
the convenience of harvesiJng, but one half of them I would pronounce 
worthless for this locality ? The varieties have selected for seed — are 
the Yellow Lamas, being the earliest to ripen ; the next the Bnughton, for 
its hardy and freedom from rust; the next, the Fultz and Walker — the 
two latier varieties being very prolific and very hardy, and all fine wheat. 
The others I discard. I have now said as much as needs be said upon 
the suliject. Yours, very respectfully, 

J. B. McEwEN. 

The following letter from one of the most successful 
wheat-growers in the State, will be read with interest. The 
soil on Mr. Matlock's farm is a stiff" clay loam, resulting 
from the disintegration of the Knox dolomite. It is deep- 
ly stained with ferric oxide, and is capable of indefinite im- 
provement : 

October 12, 1877. 
J. B Killebreio, Commissioner: 

You ask me to give you the best time and method of preparing land for 
wheat, also what time it ought to be sown. 

I prefer a clover sod plowed early in July and turned deep and well 
under. This should be kept harrowed so as to prevent the growth of 
grass und weeds. Manure should be liberally scattered upon the thin 
places. Roll well and drill in the wheat about the 10th of October. If 
I could sow all my wheat in one day it would be the 10th of October, I 



134 WPIEAT CULTURE 

alway? wjnt about three inches of the top soil well packed, and under 
this I want it loose and ni'llow. Tae seed comes up betier in land so pre- 
parpd, and if the winter should be wet, the loose soil umJerneath supplies a 
good drainage, so that there will be but little danger of freezing out. 
Should the weather be dry the closely compacted stratum on top will keep 
moisiure enough to hasten the process of germination. I have raised on 
land thus prepared 44 bushels of wheat per ac 

As to the quantity of seed to use state that upon one occasion, 

throu^i;h mistake, I put in seven acres with only tifrSte. of a bushel 

per acre. From that piece of seven acres I got 37 bushels per acre. I 
prefer one season wiih another, to begin with seven-eighths of a bushel to 
the acre, and later in the sowing season one bushel, and I do not care ever 
to have a greater quaniity, unless the n is very tbin, and it is very late 
in the seas ^n. Thin soils require more seed than rich ones, as the stand 
is never so good, nor does it tiller so well on liin soils. 

On such soils I prefer pean to over as a crop to precede wheat. Sow 
the peas at the ra,te of three or four I'usheis to the acre. Treat them with 
plaster as you would clover, and before the leaves in to turn yellow 

plow them well under. never found so muoii advantage after the leaves 
begin to turn yellow and fall ofi". By the udicious and persistent use of 
peas almost any field can be made to brin'g a fair crop of wheat and 

clover. 

Ee=pectfully, 

H. H. MATLOCK. 

Here follows a letter from Mr. Campbell : 

Vine Cottage, Frankwn, Tenn., )_ 
July 20, 1877. J 
J. B. Killehrew. Esq.: 

In answer to your note nceived to-day, I would inform you that my 
field of nine acres and 05-100, which you allude to was plowed about the 
15th of August last, with the Oliver chilled plow, turning under a crop of 
red clover and rag-weed. Early in September I broke it again with sub- 
soir plows, tearing the sod well to pieces, then harrowed twice, and v ith 
what I call a drag, went over again, mashing clo;!s and smoothing it 
very nicely ; then, with my neighbor Daniels' drill I put a little over 
three pecks of Eoughton wheat to the acre. I should have preferred drill- 
ing a half bushel to the acre, but could not regulate the drill so as to put 
that amount on. If the drill could have been made to put a peck to the 
acre, I would have put hat amount one way and crossed with a peck the 
other way, which I think would have made a better yield, leaving the 
seed more evenly distributed over the ground. When the seed was well 
up, and before it began to branch or tiller, I sowed about eight bushels of 
gypsum and thirty-five bushels of leached and unle ached ashes to the 



IN TENNESSEE. 135 

field. I have threshed out thirty bushels to the acre, and have got vet to 
thresh my gleanings, which will make the yield 32 or 33 bushels to the 
acre. I will state to you the fact that you and my neighbors all know 
that the crop was materially injured by storms in April and June. ' Now 
let me foot up the cost and profit of the crop, calculating the field at 9'> 
acres to save fractions : 

Cost of plowing at $1.50 per acre $ 14 25 

Cost of Rubsoiling at $1.50 per acre 14 23 

Cost of harrowing once, at 25 per acre "..... 2 37 

Co-it of harrowing second time 2 38 

Cost of dragging once 2 27 

7busheUeed wheat at$1.25 8 75 

Cost of drilling at 50c per acre 4 75 

8 bushels gypsum 8 00 

35 bushels asLes at 72C 2 63 

Sowing fertilizers 1 00 

Eent of land, 10 per cent, on $50 47 50 

Cost of cutting at $1 per acre 9 50 

Binding and shocking by 9 men, 3 girls ad 2 boys 20 G2 

JBoard of hands at 25c 5 25 

7 hands in threshing IJ days at $1 10 50 

45 wagons and teams 1 J days at $2 50 11 25 

1 wagon and team 2 day saving straw 1 25 

Eoard of 17 hands hauling, threshing and stacking straw Ij 

days each 6 38 

Corn and barley for 17 horses 2 00 

S pints whisky 90 

Total .'. $175 90 

By 258 51-100 bushels wheat, deducting toll at 10 per ct.. $322 96 
By straw 10 00 



poo 



2 96 



Clear profit $157 06 

-or about $17.50 j:ier acre. 

Now for the field of eight acres, rented of Mrs. Harriet Baugh : 

To rent of same at $4 per aci'e $ 32 00 

Cost of one plowing at $1.50 per acre 12 00 

Cost of one harrowing 2 00 

■Cost of one drilling 4 00 

Cost of 10 bushels seed wheat at $1.25 12 50 

Cost of 4 bijsliels gypsnm 4 00 

Cost of 24 bushels a-lies 1 80 

Cost of sowing do 1 00 

Coet cutting 8 aerc6.„ 8 OO 



136 WHEAT CULTURE 

Cost binding and shocking 3 50 

Cost of board 7 hands i day 1 10 

Cost hiring 7 hands .} day, threshing and straw 3 50 

4 wagons and teams i day 5 00 

Board of 7 hands binding and shocking 87 

Board 17 hands hauling, threshing and stacking straw 2 13 

Corn and barley for 17 horses J day 50 

One pint whisky 37 

Total $ 94 27 

By 59 45-100 bushels wheat, after paying toll, 1-10, at 

$1.2 f. S 74 31 

By straw 2 00 

$ 76 31 

Net loss $ 17 96 

or loss per acre $2.24.y. 

So you see the more of such land we farmers cultivate the greater 
the loss. This field was in sweet potatoes last year. If the land had been 
given to me free of rent, I would, after getting a low price for labor, have 
got $1.75 per acre. We must quit this system of farming, and improve 
our land by system of grazing stock, especially sheep and cattle and a free 
use of clover with land plaster and ashes, and using all the manure we 
can make frou the stock. If in the above two statements I have com- 
mitted an error, it is unintentional, and I would like for you to point it out 
to me. I have not yet threshed out any gleanings, but will report the 
same to you when I do. 

Yours, with respect, 

^VM. R CAMPBELL. 

JUDGE hurt's experience. 

Judge W. J. Hurt, of Como, Heury county, Tennessee, 
sowed Tappahaunock ou a piece of dark chocolate colored 
land with red, porous sub-soil, whose original growth was 
hickory, pawpaw and poplar, and has been cultivated forty 
years in corn, cotton and tobacco without rest or clover: 
lies high and level. Sowed from first to fifteenth of Octo- 
ber, one bushel of seed to the acre. Sowed it broad-cast. 
It ripened about the first week in June. Broke up in Sep- 
tember with a one-horse Brinley plow drawn by two mules- 
Seed harrowed and brushed in. Yield: 3,000 bushels on 
one hundred acres. In 1874 sowed wheat on clover land 



IN TENNESSEE. 137 

and raised forty bushels per acre. Clover sod turned under 
in July. Did not graze nor ever does. Quality of wheat 
is improved by letting it become thoroughly ripe before cut- 
ting. Soaks his wheat in bluestone, one pound to eight 
bushels^ for twenty-four hours. 

Jno. H. Harrison broke up a meadow of five years' standing 
with three horses in July. He broke first of October and sowed 
three-fourth of a bushel Boughton wheat per acre one way 
with drill and crossed with one-half bushel per acre the other 
way. Drought killed out a good deal. Harrowed before sow- 
ing. Result: 17 acres made 35 bushels per acre, 10 acres made 
40 bushels per acre, and 4 acres made 50 per acre. Sev- 
eral gentlemera made from 25 to 45 bushels per acre? 
and it is a notable fact that all the large yields were from 
clover land broke up in July or August. 

A remarkable instance of the result of good farming took 
place at State Lunatic Asylum. The land is a white oak ridge, 
known as Nubbin Ridge, from the size of the corn grown 
on it. When purchased by the State it was literally ex- 
hausted — worn out. Last year it was in clover, was broken 
up in September and Fultz wheat sowed, after being rolled 
and harrowed. It was sown broad-cast and bull-tongued in. 
It was rolled in the spring. The yield of the field of 28 
acres was 981 bushels by weight, or 35 1-28 bushels per 
acre. 

Letter from Mr Sanders, of Rutherford county : 

MxjRFREESBORo, Tenn., July 11,1877. 

J. B. KiUebrew, Esq. — Dear Sir: I have been requested to send you a 
statement of my wheat, manner of putting in, time of sowing, etc. My 
land was all turned under with a tliree-horse plow in August and Septem- 
ber, and was let lie until the 1st of October, when it was thoroughly har- 
rowed with a three-horse harrow and then ^seeded as follows : The first 
three pieces were Fultz, and turned out us below. The first on clover, 
three-fourths of a bushel per acre sown October 5th, rusted badly, fell 
down, and got 20 bushels per acre. 

Second piece after oats. Seeded three-fourths of a bushel per acre 
October 5th, rusted slightly; yield 15 bushels per acre. 



138 WHEAT CULTUEE 

Third |iiece, three-fourths of a bushel per acre, after wheat ; land thin 
no rust, yield 12^ bushels per acre. Sowed October 28. 

Fourth piece after wheat, five-eighths of a bushel per acre, bright amber> 
lard thin, October 25, yield IGJ bushels per acre. 

Fifth piece afier clover, three-fourllis of a bushel per acre, bright amber, 
sowed October 17, yield 25 1 bushels per acre. 

You will observe from the above that my average yield per acre was 18 
bushels, or 26j bushels to one sown. All the above plats were treated in 
the same way, being thoroughly harrowed, sown and harrowed in. My 
Crop of 22 bushels of seed on 322 acres of land yielded 578 bushels of choice 
wheat. 

Respectlully, 

S. K. Sanders. 

A irentloman in Bedford county bought a worn-out place 
and sowed a forty acre field in wheat and clover. The first 
year he got 1(J0 bushels of inferior A\dieat, or four bushels 
per acre. The next year he got by plastering his clover a 
large lot of valuable hay, and in August he saved and sold 
$600 worth of clover seed, and then broke it up and sowed 
in wheat. The next year, being the third year from the 
purchase, he saved 1,200 bushels of good wheat, and it 
has, by alternating with clover, got to be one of the best 
wheat farms in Bedford county. 

A Mr. Daniels, came from Indiana a few years ago and 
bought a portion of an old place that had been worn out in 
cotton culture. He plowed it across gullies, making his 
horses jump, and sowed in wheat and clover. This year he 
made 30 bushels per acre on the whole place. When he 
bought it, from five to seven bushels was the average. 

There is a great diversity among farmers as to the crop 
that precedes wheat. Unfortunately it often happens that 
no regular system at all is observed, but he merely sows 
certain pieces of ground because it is convenient. ' These 
farmers help to reduce the average per acre in the county 
or State. It is not always practicable for a farmer to sow clover, 
in fact some land does not produce it successfully. Then peas 
would precede it with fine eifect. A pea crop turned under 
has been known to add five bushels per acre, and this cer- 



IN TENNESSEE. 139 

tainly will remunerate the farmer. The proper plan will be to 
sow peas broad-cast on the ground, it being properly prepared 
to receive them, and then in August, either pasturing with 
hogs or witliout, plow in the vines, and treating afterwards 
as any fallow land. Next to clover this crop is the best to 
precede wheat. 

Mr. Lovelace, of Henry county, has made some interest- 
ing experiments in wheat growing by preceding his v/heat 
cro]> with peas. From three pecks to a bushel of stock peas 
were sown per acre in May, 1873, upon a i3eld almost to- 
tally exhausted, the last crop of wheat from which, though 
a good season, yielding only five bushels per acre. The 
pea vines were turned under in August following, and the 
field sown in wheat in October. The following year ten 
bushels of wheat per acre were harvested. The field was 
put in peas as soon as the wheat was cut, the vines turned 
under in August and wheat sown. The yield the follovving 
summer was fifteen bushels, showing a regular increase of 
five bushels each year, though the land was in cultivation 
every year. In 1873 the soil was so poor it would not 
grow clover. In 1876 there was a magnificent stand of 
clover on it, and the land was rich enough to bring a crop 
of tobacco. If our farmers generally would adopt this 
simple plan to fertilize their lands fewer complaints would 
be heard of the unprofitableness of farming. 

Rotation of crops should always be observed. A farmer 
who will persistently cultivate in the cereals, cotton and 
tobacco, cannot expect long to enjoy prosperity, but if he 
will alternate with clover every two, three or even four 
years, his land can be kept good a long time. Prof. Voelcker, 
reporting experiments to the Royal Agricultural Society of 
England, says : 

"The heaviest crops of clover removed from the soil ap- 
pear to render it more capable of yielding a good crop of 
wdieat. The addition of even powerful saline manures 
(super-phosphate of lime, mixed alkalies, etc.,) seems hardly 



140 WHEAT CULTUEE 

to improve the subsequent wheat crop. Clover mowed 
twi:^e leaves the land in a better condition, as regarding its 
wheat producing qualities, than when mowed once only for 
hay, and the second crop fed off the land by sheep." "Clo- 
ver not only provides," says he, "abundance of nitrogeneous 
food, but delivers this food in a readily available form, as 
nitrates, more gradually and continuously, and consequently 
with more certainty of a good result than such food 
can be applied to the land in the shape of nitrogenous 
spring top dressings." 

The removal of the clover crop does not always benefit 
the succeeding wheat crop. An interesting experiment was 
made a year or two since in Maury county, one half of the 
field being mowed and the clover hay taken off, while on 
the other half the clover was allowed to fall down and was ■ 
subsequently turned under. The latter half made five 
bushels of wheat per acre more than that portion from 
which the clover crop was taken off. Whether the clover 
should or should not be taken off depends greatly upon the 
time of plowing. If this be done in June or July a heavy 
growth of clover would doubtless be an advantage to the 
succeeding wheat crop, but if the plowing is postponed un- 
til August the cleaner the land is the better. The decay of 
the green crop should be perfect before the wheat is sown, 
and to hasten this a liberal dressing of lime would not be 
out of place. This practice accords with my own experi- 
ence of twenty years in the raising of wheat. 

Mr. Joseph Wright, on land which had been two years 
in clover, hauled out manure in the winter, spread and 
plowed in early in the spring, turning the soil to cover the 
manure, and then as early as possible planted it in corn. 
As soon as the corn was in condition he cut and shocked it, 
plowed the land, giving it a thorough pulverization, and 
sowed wheat by October 10th. He raised on this 
corn land the past season 45^ bushels per acre. After the 
fall sowing of wheat he seeded it with clover in the spring 



IX TENNESSEE. 141 

with a small quantity of timothy seed to hold uj^ the clover. 
His crop of corn yielded him 80 bushels per acre. 

By reference to the schedule at the end of this work it will 
be observed that a great discrepeucy exists as to the proper 
time of cutting. When seed is required it is the general 
belief that the wheat should be thoroughly ripe. For flour 
the proper time is thought to be just as the wheat passes 
out of the dough state. Millers prefer it thoroughly ripe, 
and when we consider that seed wheat is taken out of the 
general store, it is best to let it all get ripe alike. It has 
never been tried, but it certainly would be but little trouble 
for an experiment to be made in cultivating wheat seed as 
we do millet seed. An easy plan would be to double the 
distance of a drill, or rather stop every other tube so as to 
double the width of the rows, then in the early spring either 
cultivate with the same drill, or use a sub-soiler with an iron 
bar helve so as not to cover with soil. It would be inter- 
esting to know what w'ould be the result of a few conse- 
cutive years of such cultivation on any given species of wheat. 

We have said but little as to the pasturage of wheat but 
refer tiie reader to the schedule of answers. It sometimes 
may not show injury, but the cropping off the leaves 
given by nature for its sustenance does not seem at all 
beneficial. If very rank it may not hurt it, but it is yet 
to be proved that it benefits it. 

WHEAT CULTURE. 

The following letter is written by a citizen of Bradley 
county, who has made a great success in wheat culture : 

Wheat is, perhaps, the mo.<t peculiar of all the grasses. It certainly is 
tlie most va uable, and admits of greater improvement and is suliject to 
more accidtnts, diseases and attacks from parasites than any other cereal. 
To adapt its peculiarities to dili't-rent soils and climates; to feed the plant 
wiih fojd that promotes the stalk and griin equally ; to discover the cause 
and cure of the many diseases that prey upon it ; to prevent the attacks of in- 
sec s and accidents that come upon it ; in fine, to manage the whole to make 
it pay, are questions not ytt satisfactorily answered. He who has genuine 



142 WHEAT CULTURE 

Avheat land does not always make a crop reraunerative, nor is he left out in 
the catalogue of failures. There is a culture, and that culture will be dis- 
covered sooner or later, that will obtain, and make wheat as much a sui- 
cesss as it is now a failure. Science alone will develop the method of 
adapting the plant to soils and climates, so that almost every season it will 
produce a remunerative crop. So far as experience in whe.it culture 

is concorned, it is quite limited. My partiul success i producing fine 
grain is due entirely to a careful study o f wants and demands of the plant, 
and persistent labor (carried out on the simple natural laws that govern 
• each) in selecting and saving the seed. 

Genuine wheat soil is the tirst requisite. Good seed the second. 
Ten dcdlars per acre, no less, will just about cover the expenses of 
preparing the land, sowing, reaping and threshing. Some farmers (?) 
think this exorbitant. The se who think so do not make iheiravenige reach 
ten bushels. 

The siiil first. Before turning under the green growing crop of weeds or 
clover, sow ten to thiry bushels of caustic lime per acre, or cut them low 
and after a few days drying, scatter straw and burn ofl' clean. The lime 
prevents the weeds from souring the soil, assists decomposition, and the 
soil packs more rapidly. Tbe ashes promote the growth and health of 
both phint and grain, a/id partially prevent rust. Light soils require less 
lime and much more care in the preparaiion. In applying manures from 
stables or cow stalls, they should never be scattered in the fresli or green 
state. The farmer lose too much. One load of manure taken a>s the 
base, will make from ten to fifteen ol the most excellent comjiost, and will 
go atleast as much further in producing good cropss This compost can 
be made up of elements found on every farm. One day each week, with 
a team and two hands, should be spent at the compost heap. It is the 
farmer's bank — his money is in it. At the rate of twenty loads of this 
should be scattered upnn tlie land four or five months before the wheal is 
sown. After plowing, immediately harrow boih ways and roll, and let 
the land rest until sowing, at which time harrow again and roll, then drill. 
In the short dry spell in February or March, when the dew is off, sow ealt 
and ashes or salt and lime, harrow and roll again. This consiituies put- 
ting in wheat tolerably well. 

The seed. It should never be taken from the bin. Seeds of all kinds 
must be selected in the field. The farmer can then select his best. Take 
that which is lar st, best and earliest ripe. For any choice seed pick by 
liand a bushel or two of center heads,and drill by hand on some fine spot of 
ground and take its product for your seed the next year. Hand-pick every 
year to relieve your crop of cockle, cheat and unhealthy grain. There is 
more muney, and infinitely more satisfaction to the scientific farmer in 
this method of treating his seed, than any other he can poFsibly invent. 
Good seed sown properly in good soil, and well prepared, will make re- 



IN TENNESEEE. 143 

munerative crops nine years out of every ten. It requires clean land to 
prevent the ravages of the fly ; it requires early sowing to in^ure a good 
aland ; it requires potash in some of its forms to prevent rust, even on ele- 
vated lands ; it requires salt to slifi'eu the stalk and make the grain, and 
it requires a well-balanced head to make a wheat crop pay. 

The varieties of wheat are quite numerous. Almost every one hss its 
drawbacks. It may be more iu the management of soil and seed thnn in 
the variety. I have for several years experimented with as many as 38 
different varieties, giving each three years trial. None have I found to 
excel the Golden Straw — a beautiful, white, smooth variety, and much 
called for by the mills. It yields more under the same treatment, makes 
more flour, and ripens from four to ten d.iys earlier than all others. I 
have certificates from thresher-men and millers, that its yield has rfached 
this year as high as 67J and 68^- bushels per acre, and that it produces as 
high as 48 pounds of flour in every 60. The weight of a struck bushel is 
65J pounds. I have in this, given a very imperfect outline of my mode 
of wheat culture, which may be of some benefit to farmers. 

A. E. BLUNT. 

Cleveland, Tennessee. ^^ 

Professor Nicholson, of the East Tennessee University, 
sends the following : 

E. T. U. Knoxyille, Tenn., College of AaRrctiLTURE, \ 

September 16, 1877. j 

J.B. Killebrciv, Commissioner of Agriculhire, etc.: 

Deak Sir — I take t"he first opportunity to comply with my promise to 
write you concerning clover as a preparation for wheat. Observant far- 
mers, in all parts of the world, where wheat and clover are grown, long 
since noted the fact that a clover sod was the best natural preparation for 
a good wheat crop. It has also been often noted that the yield of wheat 
was better when the clover crop had been grown for seed, tJian when the 
second crop was either turned under green or depastured by cattle. This 
fact is an exception to the general law that crops allowed to go to seed 
exhaust the land far more than tliey do when they are cut or removed at 
an earlier sta^e. I do not doubt that a comparison of the histories of the 
best wheat crops reported to you will confirm these observations. 

The only attempt to explain the causes of the su] eriori;y of clover as a 
preparatory crop for wheat, with which I am acquainted, was made by Dr. 
Augustus Voelcker, chemist to the Koyal Agricultural Society of England^ 
Ihe results of along series of experiments were published in the journal 
of that Sociely for 1S68. The report of Dr. Voelcker is long and elabo- 
rate, and would occupy probably more space than you would care to allow. 



144 WHEAT CULTURE 

I therefore venture to summarize his conclusions, leaving out the chemi- 
al tests and experiments by which they were reached. 

I assume, as proved by the elaborate, long-continued and oft-repeated 
experiment of Dawes & Gilbert, and others, that the wheat-producing ca- 
pacity of a soil depends upcn the amount of available nitrogenous matter 
that it contains. 

By analyzing the soil from which the heaviest crops of clover have been 
taken, it is established : 

1. That in the growth of clover a large amount of nitrogenous matter ac- 
cumulates in the soil. 

2. This accumulation is greatest in the surface soil, and is derived fiom 
decaying leaves, dropped during the growth of the clover, and from the 
great mass of root, containing when dry from 1-J to 2 per cent, of nitrogen. 

3. There are more and larger roots and more fallen leaves when the 
crop is allowed to go to seed than when it is cut for hay or pastured — in 
consequence, more nitrogen accumulates in a seed crop than in a hay crop. 

4. When clover is pastured the young plants are checked in growth, 
less roots are formed, and less leaves fall th';n when the crop is allowed to 
grow for hay, hence the smaller amount of nitrogen left in pastured sod 
than in a mown sod, and as a consequence, the smaller yield of wheat. 

5. It is highly probable that the rains wash from the air sufficient nitro- 
gen to sati^fy the lequirements of an ordinary clover ci'op. The nitrogen 
of the, clover crop left in the soil, is gradually converted into nitrates, 
which is the most available form for the use of the wheat plant. 

I quote the practical conclusion of the report: " Indeed, no kind of ma- 
nure can be compared in point of efficacy for wheat, to the manuring 
which the land gets in a really good ciop of clover. The farmer who 
wishes to dtrive the full benefit from his clover laj', should plow it up for 
wheat as soon as possible in the autumn, and leave it in a rough state as 
long as it is admisaable, in order that the air may find free access into the 
land, and the organic remains left in so unuh abundance in a good clover 
crop be changed into plant-food ; more especially, in other words, in order 
that the crude nitrogenous oiganic matter in the clover roots and decaying 
leaves may have time to become transformed intoanimoniacal compounds, 
and these in tlie couise of time into ni rates, which 1 am strongly inclined 
to think is the form in which nitrogen is assimilated, par excellence, by 
cereal croiis, and in which, at all events, it is more efficacious than in any 
other state of combination wherein it may be used as a fertilizer." 

"When the clo'.er lay is plowed up early, the decay of the clover is 
sufficiently advanced by the time the young wheat jdant stands in need of 
ready available nitrogenous food, and this being uniformly distributed 



IN TENNESSEE. 145 

through the whole of the cultivated soil, is ready to benefit every single 
plant." 

Dr. Voelcker, you know, stands at the very head of his profession, and 
there is no higher authority known in agricultural chemistry. 
Very respectfully, 

HUNTER NICHOLSON. 

We might multiply instances of this kind for a hundred 
pages, but we have said enough to convince every one that on 
suitable land, with proper care, wheat raising will pay, and 
on poor land it will prove a disappointment to any one 
who attempts it. 



10 



146 WHEAT CULTURE 



CHAPTER XVII. 

PEAS AS A RENOVATOR OF THE SOIL AND AS A FORE- 
RUNNER OF WHEAT. 

It is well known that many green crops when turned 
under adds greatly to the fertility of the soil. Some green 
crops, however, seem especially adapted to prepare the soil 
for wheat. Among them we may mention red clover and 
peas. It is well known that wheat always grows kindly 
and yields profusely upon a clover. lay. An ordinary clover 
crop upon an acre will contain, after drying: 

Ammonia 52.00 

Phosphoric a( id 19.76 

Sulphuric acid 7.50 

Silica 18.65 

Lime 75.00 

Magnesia ; 21.00 

Potash 80.69 

This turned under will supjily plant food enough to grow 
a very heavy crop of wheat. Twenty-five bushels of wheat 
will weigh 1,500 pounds; the straw will weigh 3,000 pounds. 
The straw and wheat will abstract the following elements, 
supposing it to have been grown upon an acre : 

Grain. Straw. Total. 

Ammonia 41.71 10 18 51.89 

Phosphoric acid 15.00 11.10 26.10 

Sulphuric acid l.SO 5.10 6.90 

Silica 1.05 143.10 144.15 

Lime 135 12.00 13.85 

Magnesia 4.G5 5.10 9.75 

Potash 12.00 23.70 35.70 

It will be observed by a comparison of the two tables 
that there is great similarity between the composition of the 



IN TENNESSEE. 147 

aslies of wheat and clover, that every element necessary to 
the production of wheat is found developed profusely in the 
clover hay, to say nothing of the clover roots, which 
abound in the same substances. Two elements only are 
found in greater quantity in the wheat than in the clover 
hay, viz: silica and phosphoric acid. The first is nearly 
always found in excess in our soil, and the apparent defi- 
ciency of phosphoric acid is more than made up by the roots 
of the clover. 

Clover restores fertility to exhausted soils by taking 
carbon from the atmosphere and causing elements in the 
soils to assume organic forms, thus rendering them availa- 
ble as plant food. The practice, however, of cutting and 
selling the clover hay before plowing up the land for wheat 
cannot be two strongly condemned. Clover, to do any 
good, must cither be plowed under or fed out on the farm 
and the manure carefully saved and returned to the land. 
Frequent experiments have been made in the same field by 
taking the clover hay from a part and leaving it on the re- 
mainder. It almost always happens that the yield of wheat 
is greatest on the portion of the field v/here the clover was 
plowed nnder. And when it is otherwise it is due to the 
delay in turning over the clover sufficiently early to alJow 
it to pass through the process of fermentation and decay 
before the sowing of the wheat. 

A volume could be written on the benefits to be derived 
from the sowing of clover. It is enough for our present 
purpose to know that it unlocks the fertility of our soils, 
keeps them in good physical condition and greatly increases 
the yield of wheat. 

Next to clover as a forerunner of wheat we may put peas. 
Sown broad-east and turned under when in flower, they nave 
been known to increase the yield of wheat from four to six 
bushels per acre. The following letter from the Hon. H. 
M. Polk is conclusive as to the value of this crop as a fer- 
tilizer, and no better service could be done to the asricul- 



148 WHEAT CtTLTURE 

ture of Tennessee than to induce our farmers to sow lariJely 
of this crop. In addition to the raanurial value of peas, 
they contain a large amount of flesh-forming principles. 
Analysis shows 22.4 parts of albuminoids and 53.3 of 
carbo-hydrates in 100. Hogs can be fattened upon them, 
and cattle can subsist upon the hardier varieties, sown in the 
corn fields at the last plowing, almost during the entire 
winter. But to the letter of Mr. Polk : 

BouvAE, Tenn., Aug., 1877. 
Col. J. B. Kilkbreio: 

Dear Sir — I am in receipt of yonr request, communicated througli our 
mutual friend, Col. M. T. Polk, to write an article on "the field pea. its 
manurial qualities, and its capacity as a permanent renovator of the 
soil." This is intended to accompany, simply as an addendum, a 
treaties upon " Wheat Culture in Tennessee." 

The importance of the field pea as a collector and depositor of plant 
food in the surface soil, to meet the future wants of a heavy wheat (or 
other cereal) crop, has never been fully appreciated even by our most 
thoughtful planters. And, although the pea cannot perform miracles, in 
the common acceptation of the term, yet it can, on most soils, assure a 
heavy wheat crop anmiolbj from the same ground, and at the same time 
improve the soil. This, at least, is practicable whenever wheat is made to 
follow oats, wheat or rye; for in this case, time sufficient is allowed, fiom 
the removing the small grain crop in June, to that of sov/ing wheat? 
(from the middle of October to the first of November), to intervene with 
a renovating crop of peas. 

A good lay of pea vines (grown upon the spring stubble) plowed under 
from the first to the tenth of October, will not only restore the elements of 
fertility abstracted from the soil by the preceding crop in the spring, but 
will collect and deposit therein more than a sufficient amount of plant 
food necessary for the demands of the succeeding wheat crop. It may be 
contended this too per.sistent call for the same elements, in the same soil, 
annually, cannot but eventually result in injury to the soil. Under our 
ordinary tillage, (which ignores feeding the soil), this woald be true ; but 
■where an intervening crop of peas returns the plant food abstracted by the 
previous crop, and in addition thereto stores away the pabulum required 
by the succeeding crop, we cannot preceive the dangers to be ftared from 
such a practice. The various elements necessary to a vigorous and 
healthy growth of wheat, are, through the pea lay, in the incredibly phort 
period of seventy-five days, lestoretl to and husbanded in the soil for a gen- 
erous yield of the incoming crop. Not even soluble silex is overlooked in 
this statement, as we may rely upon the small amount returned in the pea 



IN TENNESSEE. 149 

vine, a portion also given back in the smill grain stubble plowed under 
when the peas were sown, and super added thereto, the abundance of this 
particular substance ever present in our siiicious soil. 

I said the field pea could not perform miracles. It is not a panacea for 
all the evils resulting from defective till ige, neither can it claim to intro- 
•duce into a soil, defective in a particular element, that which the pea itself 
does not i>ossess. For such an impossible requii-ement no one vegetable 
or animal manure is competent. The intelligent iarmer must find out 
what is wanting, and apply the particular manure calculated to remedy 
the defect. 

Husbandry also should be made to repair many of the evils resulting 
from de^^ective tillage. Chief among these, (and far surpassing them all in 
magnitude), is the annual leaching out the fertilizing elements tlirougli 
tlie shallow culture so universally practiced. But I can neither discuss 
this nor such other calamities as must result from a total neglect to return 
one generous shovelful of manure to land from which the elements of fertil- 
ity have been annually abstracted ; nor the fact that a rational rotation is 
altogether ignored ; nor the unwisdom of relying on one crop alone; 
thereby taking year after year the same elements from the same soil, un- 
iil it is made deficient in some one or more of the many substances neces- 
sary to healtliy and vigorous plant life. I must not turn aside to discuss 
these evils, but shall confine my remarks to the pea in connection with 
wheat culture, and as a renovator of our worn lands. We have shown 
that the pea, as an intervening crop with small grain in the spring 
and wheat in the fall, can and does restore to the land a liberal siipply*of 
plant food for the following wheat crop. But on other parts of the farm 
occupied by cotton, corn, tobacco, etc., (which rerjuire the better part of 
the year to mature), peas cannot be made an annual interveningcrop. This, 
then, brings us squarely up to the first greed 'principle in fanning — rotation 
of crops with the purpose of feeding the soil. 

In a three yeare rotation of cotton and corn with peas and oats, or other 
crop, it is asserted by many farmers that the |ieas sown witli the corn will 
restore to the earth in one year an ecjuivalent for the plant food abstracted 
by the other two crops. But when the object is to feed the .soil abundantly 
for renovation, at the same time that we expect to secure heavy yields of 
the cereals, it is necessary to adojit at least a five years rotation, in two 
years of which more plant food shall be put back into the soil than will be 
abstracted by the other three (so-called) money crops. Here is the whole 
secret of successful farming in a nutshell. 

England not only rotates and feeds her soil, but imports plant food. We 
extract and impoverish and export plant food. How does our soil of 
eighty years culture compare with her soil, cropped about one thousand 
years? Peas and clover, aided by what manure we can manufacture, are 
ihe great agents to recuperate and build up our soil, that it may be able to 



150 WHEAT CULTURE 

supply in future the heavy demands of a population as dense as that of 
the European State-'. Let us illustrate the exhausting process : 

The earth is the farmer's bank. If he has $10,000 in it, represented by 
the natural fertility of the soil, and should draw therefrom $1,000 annu- 
all)', at the same time refusing to replenish the original capital, how long 
will it be before the bank will dishonor his drafts? The sum is' too 
simple to require a demonstration. The farmer appears to be, however, 
obstinately bent on trying to convince himself that even under this sense- 
less practice his drafts will continue to be honored forever. He is abso- 
lutely sublime on the annual draw. It would seem that exjierience might 
have taught him that his exhaustive practice would eventually 
close the doors against him; that his capital must soon be all used up 
and that want even now threatens him from a quarter wheie plenty and 
prosperity could easily have been assured. He seems to be desirous of 
emulating the .profound wisdom of the fellow (he must have been a 
Southern farmer) who killed the goose for the golden eggs. Were it not 
for the dir^astrous efiects such praatice must have upon the interests of 
posrerity and the future wellfare of our State, we might with more 
patience await the working out upon this line the problem in its bearing 
upon the material prosperity of the inen of the- present generation. 

If we cannot induce our neighbors to adopt a judicious system of rota- 
tion,, let us at least urge them to avail themselves as far as posjfible of the 
pea and clover as renovating crops. We have not the lithe of the stook 
in our portion of the State necessary to keep our arable lands in good 
heart by animal manure alone; nor are we prepared, under our present 
mode of farming, (in which husbandry has but little part), to subsist that 
amount of stock through one winter. 

For the renovation of our broad acres then, we must look to green 
crop turned under. The size of our farms forbids us to hope to accom- 
plish this with animal manure. We have to our hand the very best of 
agents to accompli-h this great work. The farmers in the wheat region 
northwest of the Ohio river can avail themselves of clover only as a reno- 
vating crop. They are denied the benefits spi-inging from the field pea. 
Tliis is a child of the South. Its value to us is beyond estimate. Ques- 
tions of tariff, internal improvements, contraction or expansion of the 
currency, demonetizatioii of silver, all sink into insignificance when con- 
trasted with the results flowing from the utilization or neglect of the field 
pea in agriculture, as an agent bearing upon the future prosperity and 
happiness of the people of the South. 

In our latitude the pea goes hand-in-hand with clover. South of us it 
stands alone, and is destined to have the all honor of rebuilding tlitit sec- 
tion of the country, if its pro.^perity is evei' restored. There is no portion 
of the world so favored with such rich vegetable substances to renov:ite its 
arable lands as the particular latitude of our own State. And, shall we 



IX TENNESSEE. 151 

confess it ? Ivo portion of the civilized world (except the cotton accursed 
region south of us), where farmers have so little availed themselves of the 
mean-? at hand to keep in good heart, and to enrich their soils. 

Deterioration is the curse stealing over our soils, abroad as well as a*- 
home. Even the deep, rich soils of Illinois, Ohio, and the other great 
wheat-producing Stales of the northwest are maiiift- sting this lamentable 
truth. And it is now accepted as a fact, that, in ttiis region the wheat- 
producer is annually becoming poorer, while the stock-raiaer (and his 
land) are yearly growing richer. True, they are deprived of the best of 
all preparations fur a wlieat crop, the field pea, but they have clover. And 
in ratio to the decrease in the number of acres annually given to this crop, 
may be measured with infallible certainty, the decrease in yield of their 
wheat crop per acKe. And what is much worse, the waning capacity of 
their lands for the production of future heavy crojis. 

We cannot, with impunity, long ignore in practice the fundamental 
truth in agriculture, that the earth must be fed to continue to give us boun- 
teous harvests. It cannot be too often repeated, that rotation with the 
purpo.-e of leeding tlie land, gives plenteousne^s ; annual abstractions, 
with no equivalent return, brings ruin. 

The farmer I::is been calling inexorably for the s:ime elements of fer- 
tility in the same soil, with the same unvarying crop, never replenisiiing 
the soil until his famished giotmd has failed to "give up her increase," and 
the bankrupt landowner finds, too late, that he has really been living on 
his capital, instead of its interest, as he suppo.^ed. In .short, he has en- 
tirely exhausted his soil. This he cannot understand. Of course the 
fault does not lie at his door ; no, he is a hard-working man, and as 
everybody know.'S, gets all out of tlie earth which lie is able to extract. He 
could not, for the life of him, tell who bit Billy Patterson. Not he ! This 
man has never even risen to the intellectual level of the astonished Dutch- 
man, who, with elevated hands and with uncertainty, doubt and wonder 
faintly expressed upon his stolid coujatenance, he exclaimed, " mein Gott \ 
I drive dis wagon two ihousand mile, and he never broke dow'n before! " 
Why a wagon that has accomplished so much, and was thereby fitting 
itself daily to perform more and greater work, should not drive on to all 
eternity, Wiis what our astonished Teuton could not understand. "And 
that's what's the matter with Hannah," generally in agriculture. We are all 
of us blind, and when we attempt to lead each othfr, we generally tumble 
'• into the diich." I feel thitt I am never out of the slough of despond. It 
is absolutely startling to think that agriculture, the great wealth producing 
agent of the State — the art of arts — the mainspring of civiliza;ion, refine- 
ment and progress, should be enginered by a reckless indifference which 
would di.sgrace any other calling whereby men are named or known. It 
amounts to an astonishingly stupendous evil, with results as wide-spreading 
as our loved south-land, and as far-reaching in its desolating effecLs as the 
nttrests of our remotest posterity. 



152 WHEAT CULTURE 

Some of the great advanfages possessed by the pea as a renovater, are: 

1. Its mechanical efftct upon the soils. 

2. The very short time in which it perfects a heavy lay of vines for being 
turned under. 

3. (Resulting from the above fact) its capacity for being made an inter- 
vening feeder following oats, rye, barley, with most of the root crops pre- 
ceding a crop of wheat in the fall. 

4. The great richne-s of the pea in the very manures required by wheat 
and other cereal crops. 

5. Its capncity for growing upon land too poor "to subsist clover. 

6. Its capacity to put more plant-food in the earth, (and at the same 
time produce more animal food,) than any vegetable substance known, not 
excepting clover, (allowing two years to one crop of clover and four crops 
of peas.) 

7. The large addition made to humus upon which the tilth, as well as 
the capacity of the soil for retaining moisture so greatly depends. 

What pea is best to sow as a renovator of the soil ? They are all equally 
rich in plant-food. For our purpose, we will distinguish between them as 
the bunch pea and rampant runners. The best variety to select is that 
which runs least. The common bl-'ck pea, the clay pea and the cow pea, 
are immense runners. A heavy ay of these peas is difficult to plow un- 
der. A heavy roller passed over it when the pea is in the green state, fol- 
lowed by the best of our two horse plows, armed with a sharp rolling 
coulter (kept sharp) and set deep enough to sever the vines, would no 
doubt greatly facilitate the oneriition. This difficulty may be avoided by 
sowing the speckle pea known as the whippoorwill ; a stilljbetter pea, per- 
haps, is the bunch black pea. Either of these will give a heavy lay of 
vine'i, which can be tnrned under very readily. They each further pos- 
sess the additional value of maturing more rapidly than the rampant run- 
ners, and are, therefore, tlie sooner ready to be turned under when sown as 
a manuring crop between small grain removed in June, and a wheat crop 
in antumii. 

A light appliration of caustic lime to the vines before plowing under, 
will promote decay in the covered up lay, and enable the soil to become 
sooner "firmed" — an important point before sowing wheat upon the same 
soil, and unless done by rain, should certainly be done by the roller, be- 
fore, and after sowing. 

The lime will fiithcr neutralize the superabudance of vegetable acid 
produced by fermentation of the vines, and wiU (d so put a dctiirahle mineral 
mcmwre in the soil. This last is certainly needed in our West Tennessee 
siliceous soils. A few practical facts showing the maiurial capacity of 
the pea, preparatory to a wheat, cotton or other crop, will have more 
wtight with farmers than anything in the way of argument, or deduction 
based upon known scientific facts. 



IN TENNESSEE. 153 

The average yield of wlieat upon our leached and impoverished soil in 
Hardeman county is about six bushels per acre. This year the yield is 
larger becau?e but little of our wheat is on land which has been run a 
lengtli of time in cotton. The yield per acre is greater than in Middle or 
East Tennessee, up to date of the present year, as shown by your report. 
Now, one croj) of pea vines turned in upon our partially exhausted soils 
brings the yield up from 6 to 10 or 12 bushels per acre. 

The wheat crops in this portion of West Tennessee are often nearly doubled 
by the additional supply of plant-food thus given. Now let two crops of 
pea vines te returned to the soil in one year, beiore sowing wheat upon 
the same, would it be expecting too much to look for a still further in- 
crease upon this land of 3 or 4 bushels more, bringing the yield up to 15 
bushels per acre ? A sufficiency of plant-food lias certainly been put into 
the soil to justify this expeciation. And as sure as the capacity to pro- 
duce en. ps, is measured by the quantity of plant food put into the soil 
(contingent, to some extent, upon propitious or unpropitious seasons) just 
so certain, and t-o proportioned, will be the return of grain gathered by 
the husbandman from the ground. 

Take one step lat tlier in manuring, and add to this double pea lay a 
light application of cotton seed, superphosphate and salt, and there is no 
reason to doubt that, with this adjunct, the yield would be brought up to 
25 or 30 bushels per acre. Will not this increase of grain pay largely . 
upon the trifling cost of these additional manures 

Let me tell you of a crop of wheat near here, raised upon land in which 
there was probably not more than one element necessary to wheat wanting, 
in an otherwise rich soil. The wheat grew about lour and a half feet 
liigh, stood well upon the ground, and apparently promised 30 bushels 
per acre. No rust, and the season favorable. From this groimd 10 
bushels only of indifferent wheat was harvested. Thisground, thought to be 
rich, was undoubtedly dencient in phosphoric acid. A pea liy prtceeding 
the wheat, or a small addition of superphosphate would have cured the 
evil and given probably 30 bushels of good wheat. 

The corroboration of tiie following facts illustrating the manurial effect 
of the pea upon wheat and other crops, let me refer you to the Master of 
the County Grange of Hardeman county, Mr. Wm. A. Caruthers, one of 
our most intelli>jeiit farmers. The first is a widow's crop. From three 
acres of good land enriched by plowing under a heavy pea lay 107 bushels 
of wheat was gathered. Rate, 35f bushels per acre. 

Mr. Caruthers' crops of wheat usually give liim from 15 to 20 brshels 
upon medium land in which a pea lay has been plowed. Upon his worn 
broom-sedge land he plows up the sedge, sows peas, and here fattens his 
hogs, thus preparing the land for a iuture wheat crop. 

Another intelligent planter of Hardeman County claims this year to 
have measured ui3 33 bushels of wheat per acre upon land given two 



154 WHEAT CULTURE 

years to clover, and a good afterneath plowed under. Again, on 18 acres 
of ground near the town of Bolivar, an average of twenty bushels per acre 
was t:ikeii from the land. This crop was spotted, and good judges tliought 
til at portions of the field, where the green crop plowed under had been 
heaviest, yielded thirty-five bushels per acre. The ground had been two 
years in clover. The summer the third year it was taken by rag- 

weed. This was so heavy upon certain portions of the ground that the 
plow could make no headway until a heavy log was drawn over it, attached 
to tlie wheels of a wagon. Where the clover and weed ci'op were heaviest 
the yield of wheat was largest. 

The capacity of production being proportional to the amount of plant- 
food put into the earth is plainly illustrated by the diflerence in the yield 
from different acres on this e d^all treated alike in llw cultivation. 

We could also refer to a very prosperous farmer near us whose success 
in farming is probably due more to the renovating quality of the pea 
than any superiority of udgment in tillage. Ten years ago his lands 
were thin nnd worn. They are now fife per cent, better than when he 
purchased thtm. H has never sown any clover, but relies entirely on 
he pea ; and w hes-e he hns brought up the producing capacity of his 

land until it now conceded he makes better crops of wheat, cotton, corn 
&nd meat than any of his neighbors. In 1873 he sowed peas broadcast 
upon a field of fourteen acres planted in corn. 1S7'1 this 'field was 

planted in cotton. He picked from these 14 acres ten bales of cotton av- 
eraging per ba 12J pounds of ginned cotton. 

I could ranltip'y instances to prove that the only farmers in this part of 
the State who are making any money, are those who have adopted a judi- 
cious system rotation looking to feeding the soil. 

A few facts connected with green crnps as a renovator of the soil, from 
the h'igh-st agricultural authority, and eminently true, when considered in 
connection with he pea, will give ample reasons why a pea lay should 
never be divorced from its fitting connection with wheat culture. 

" Peis contain a much larger proportion of alkali than wheat, and hence 
should be resorted lo as a preparation for that crop." Again, "green 
crop requires but a sm ell ptirtion of the inorganic substances in the earth 
for its substance, and hence ft leaves more of tliem for the succeeding 
crop.' 

" The additional amount of vegftable matter ari'i manure which arf|pi 
crop introduces ir.ta the soil, and the large amount, of inorganic matter 
brought up by deeply penetrating roots from below" are strong recommen- 
dations o clover and peas. 

Again let me add : That the pea and clover excel all other green crops 
in fertilizing elements, /hese two trefoils far excel all other vegetable 

productions in capacity to seize and appropriate the valuable fertilizing 
ga the fr^reat manure depot above us — the atmosphere. 



IjST texxessee. 155 

"When vegi^table matter is allowed to decay in the open air, it is re- 
solved more or less completely into carbonic acid, wliich escapes into the 
air and is so far lost. But when buried beneath the surface, this forma- 
tion of carbonic acid proceeds less rMjtidly, and other compounds prepar- 
atory to the final resolution into carbonic acid and water are producod in 
greater quantity am! linger in the soil." 

We are told by Bousinsjault and other authorities, that the theoretical 
value of diflferent vegetable substances "depend mainly upon the relative 
proportions of nitrogen they contain." The pea and cotton seed are rich 
in nitrogen, besides phosphoric acid, potash, and the elements of ammonia. 
It is useless to say moi-e of the pea in connection wiih wheat culture. I 
will only add, that the value of vegetable substances as manures de- 
pend "not only upon the. nitrogen mainly which they contain," but " the 
quantity and kind of inorganic matter they contain." Taking farm-yard 
manure (composed of droppings from stock and refuse litter) as a stand- 
ard, .Johnson arranges vegetable manures as follows : 

Equal ef!"e«ts are produced by 

Farm-yard manure 1,000 pounds 

Potato and turnip toi)s 750 '' 

Carrot tops 470 " 

Clover roots (peas as good) 250 " 

Inorganic manure^, 

Farmyard... 1,000 " 

Pea straw (English) 220 " 

Wheat straw 750 to 1,700 " 

Oat straw 1,400 " 

Wheat chuff 470 " 

Tru'y your friend, 

H. M. POLK. 



156 WHEAT CULTURE 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

COST OF. CULTIVATING WHEAT — OLD METHOD OF HAE- 

VESTING. 

It will be seen in the records of various correspondence 
there is a ^reat difference in the estimate of cost of culture 
and garnering an acre of wheat. This discrepancy is due 
to several causes. In the first place, some farmers expend 
far more work in the preparation than others. While some 
are content to sow their wheat on the land broadcast, and 
plow it in, others will break it up and harrow it in, and still 
others will break up in July or August, and re-break in 
October, rolling and harrowing it until it is thoroughly pul- 
verized, and a few, in addition to all this, will put several dol- 
lar's worth of manures on the field. All this involves variations 
in their estimates of expense, and it is a legitimate difference 
in opinion. We think the following a fair estimate of all the 
absolutely necessary expense to raise an acre of wheat, pre- 
suming that the land is clover or stubble. Before giving it, 
however, another consideration that will make the estimate 
look less formidable, is that the farmer receives all this out- 
lay himself. If a man sets down to a calculation, and 
becomes frightened at a huge array of figures, and cannot 
see his profit beyond them, he will never achieve success 
as a farmer. He must work as cheaply as possible, save 
at every point, but not stint the land. It is a poor economy 
that will make a man put off work essential to the success 
of his crop, because he gets no immediate return. If jus- 
tice is done to the soil, the soil will do justice to the farmer. 
Here is an estimate, exclusive of manures, as no fair con- 
sideration is made of the necessity for them, some land 
requiring them absolutely, others, from clover, peas, etc., 
being: in a fair condition to do without their use. One more 



IN TENNESSEE. 157 

tiling. This estimate is made for the average limestone 
land. Now, some lands require much more work to put it 
in proper tilth than others. A stiff, unyielding clay, will 
have to be gone over oftener than a light, porous, silicious 
soil; one heavily clothed with weeds, than one closely 
cropped of all verdure. These considerations must enter 
into our calculations. , 

Breaking land in August, per acre ,, $1 00 

Ee-l>reaking land in October, per acre 1 00 

Harrowing thoroughly once , 25 

DrilLng (suppoesing you have none) 50 

Seed, f bushel per acre 1 00 

Harvesting, per acre 1 00 

Threshing, toll, etc 2 50 

Feeding hands, etc 76 

Rent of land at grain rates 2 00 

Total expenses for one acre wheat $10 00 

Now, for the balance to this expense there will be, in the 
first place, a fair price for the work in preparing the land. 
The farmer sells at his house food for man and horse, all of 
which goes into his own pocket. If he owns the drill, 
reaper and thresher, there is no outlay for those expenses; 
and, in fact, if he is a large farmer, his own hands will do 
all the work, and if they were not at this they would have 
to be paid. The farmer gets rent for his own land, and 
really the only thing he is obliged to absolutely lose is the 
seed, and the wear and tear of machines. But this estimate 
is made for all, and the small farmer has the expense of the 
machines to come out of his receipts, and rent of land to 
pay. With this i^reparation, however, he is almost sure of 
from twenty to thirty bushels of wheat, wherewith to pay 
his expenses. Taking into consideration the number of 
acres of land a farmer is able to cultivate, it will pay more 
in the aggregate than corn, oats, or, unless he understands 
it, and is prepared for its culture, tobacco. Besides, the 
land is not losing its vitality. Wheat after wheat can be 
raised without apparent injury to the land, pi'ovided it is 



158 WHEAT CULTURE 

occasionally manured. Horace Greeley knew a field sowed 
in wheat consecutively sixty years, and the last crop raised 
on it was the best. 

\ One word as to machines. We all remember the day 
when harvesting was looked forward to as a day of frolic. 
Each farmer cultivated just enough to do him, and sow, 
and barely that. A man who owned slaves would cut 
it himself, but in a neighborhood "' where ail did their own 
work," the farmers would club together and go irom house 
to house, and with coats off and ponderous cradles on shoulder, 
march into the field, each cradler with his partner to tie be- 
hind him. |Besides these, was an old man with two or three 
boys to " shock and bring water, etc." The wheat harvest was 
generally wound up with a dance. In a few days a circular 
space was cleaned off from grass, weeds, and loose soil, and 
swept clean. It would be like a circus-ring, and then hauling 
up his wheat, loosen the ties, and set the bundles on end, butt 
down, and leaving a small space in the center. This was 
the boy's time, and mounted on the heavy mares, with colts 
follov/ing, he would ride as proudly into the ring as ever 
belted knight couched lance at tournament. If there was 
on the place a colt to break, great contention was had as to 
who should ride him, for here was a chance to be thrown, 
and no injury to him who fell on this yielding bank of straw. 
Round and round they would go, only diversified by taking 
off, tossing up the straw, to separate the wheat, throwing off 
that which was free of grain, and putting on more. One stood 
in the open center to toss with a pitchfork that which was not 
\bcing well tramped, and when it was finished, and all the 
straw cast off, a thick layer of wheat was left. This had to 
be fanned, and the old rattletraps of that day, home-made 
mostly, flapped, flapped away, at the rate of five bushels the 
hour, until the job was completed. This was stored in hogs- 
heads, or rather a hogshead, for few had more than one. 

After aAvhile threshers, located in a barn or outhouse, 
took the place of threshing-floors, just as threshing-floors 



IN TENNESSEE. 159 

follo^ve(l the flail. It was an easy jump from stationary to 
movable threshers, and the "ground-hog" was born. This 
was a great improvement, for these ground-hogs could, by 
being well driven, thresh out two hundred bushels a 
day. This increased work was followed by improve- 
ments in fans that could keep pace with the former, and 
then the hapi)y thought occurred of combining the two. It 
was hard work for horses and men, in those hot, sultry days, 
to pull the power and turn the fan ; and when steam was 
introduced, though it met with some opposition, it at once 
jumped into public favor. Of course, there are still some 
of the primitive threshers yet used, and most of the thresh- 
ers are still driven by horses, but they are wearing out, and, 
with few exceptions, will never be renewed. Steam is tire- 
less, and works well in hot or cold weather, and few farmers 
would prefer to feed fifteen or twenty horses to do what 
fire and water will do better. 

The march from cradles to reapers has been slower, but 
none the less sure. Much of this is due to the expensive- 
ness and frail make-up of the reapers. But the exorbitant 
demands of harvesters lor labor has, within a few years, 
given a great impetus to the introduction of these labor- 
saving machines. And when, last year, we visited the field 
of a farmer, and saw a self-binding reaper doing the work 
of six men, and doing it better and more unerringly than any 
human being could, we became convinced the new birth of 
labor-saving machines had taken place. This reaper was 
followed by two men to shock, and that was all. 

There are many reapers sent out by various factors, and 
each make has its adherents. The one a man uses is his 
favorite, which is conclusive of the general good of them 
all. They are all good. We cannot do without them; and 
tlie time will soon arrive when, with a self-reaper, a farmer 
with one or two boys can cut and shock his own wheat, and 
thus save himself from that dreaded cleaning out of pockets 
the harvest-time brings. 



160 WHEAT CULTURE 

But, in the meantime, the good old cradle cannot be 
spared. Fence corners, rocky ledges, around stumps, in new 
ground, the reaper would not go. People have to adapt 
themselves to circumstances. During the war, in the far 
South the people, having no cradles, or even sickles, actually 
pulled up rhe wheat as they pull up flax. Still, reapers are 
better. Another new invention has lately come into vogue, 
and that is the horse-rake. When we used as children to 
read, in the good old Book of books, the story of Ruth 
gleaning in the fields of Boaz, we thought she was doing a 
very poor business, and her chance of making a living for 
herself and Naomi a very precarious one. But the inven- 
vention and use of horse-rakes demonstrates it to be a first- 
class paying business. Mr. Wm. P. Campbell says, in his 
most excellent letter, that he gets two or three bushels per 
acre. Numerous instances have occurred in which from one 
to two bushels have been secured. Where a field is situated 
so as to be used as a pasture, this saving is not of so much 
moment, as hogs thrive well on it; but it often happens 
that, from various causes, advantage cannot be taken of this, 
and the grain is lost. The careful farmer will see to it that 
the utmost economy is used. To be careful is not to be 
stingy ; and he \vho will save at all the usual waste places 
can afiord to supply himself with all the conveniences that 
make farming not only profitable, but pleasant. Every 
farmer should endeavor, as soon as possible, to use his own 
drill, reaper, mower and thresher. Should his crop not be 
large enough to justify him, he may get to use them for 
less provident neighbors, and thus lesseia his expense. 



IN TENNESEEE. 161 



CHAPTER XIX, 

IDISEASES OF WHEAT AND THEIR REMEDIES, 

Fortunately for the Tennessee farmer, the catalogue of in- 
sects is very small compared with that of our Northern 
brethren. It will be unneccvssary to enlarge on this subject, 
but confine ourselves to a simple enumeration of the insects 
injurious to wheat, except those that have invaded oar 
State. These we shall notice moi^ carefully. 

As to the diseases to which wheat is liable, we can claim 
no exemption, having unfortunately experienced them all, 
•either from ignorance or carelessness, and to remedy these 
•evils as far as practicable shall be the object of this chapter. 

Often a farmer sows a field of wheat in the most approved 
manner, and the field presents a most charming aspect 
through the season, and he has every hope of being well re- 
munerated for his labor. This is too often only a promise to 
the eye, to be broken to the hope, for when harvest begins 
his prospects are all gone. Blight i,s on the field, and l(5sses 
follow instead of gain. Unfortunately many ot the inSects 
and diseases to which wheat is subject have hitherto defied 
the efforts of all remedies. In this case a knowledge of the 
character, habits and origin of these evils leads observing 
persons to give thought to the! subject, and by close obser- 
vation and research some one of them may be able to-difi- 
cover methods more successful than heretofore used. Some 
of the causes that are deleterious to wheat are, to a certain 
extent, under the control of the farmer. Others are not, 
but by understanding whence the evil comes, though not 
able to overcome it, he can so arrange his plans as not to be 
aifected by it. We all remember the time when we were 
11 



162 WHEAT CULTUEE 

powerless before the ravages of smut. We saw the whea^ 
■wasted and destroyed by this fungus. We saw the bread 
looking blue with an offensive odor^ and yet we could not 
avoid it. Now this vile disease is perfectly under the con- 
trol of the farmer, and »nly a criminal negligence will allow 
hini to suffer from it. So with the Hessian Fly. Before 
its nature and habits were studied the wheat fields were 
often devastated, and a man simply had to trust to luck, 
Kow, since its habits have been developed, no one will suffer 
from it unless he still trusts to luck. If study and obser- 
vation have been sufficient to protect the farmer in these in- 
stances^ may not a prosecution of these enquiries finally re- 
sult in eliminating the whole lii-^t of disasters from the farm ? 

There are many causs!-^ affecting deleteriously the wheat 
crop. For convenience they may be divided into terres- 
trial, atmospheric, agricultural and constitutional ; and we 
■will explain in a few words the definition of these terms: 

Terrestrial causes are those that appertain to the soil, its^ 
capacity to grow v/heat, and its changes either from addi- 
tions by accident or intention. 

Atmospheric causes are those that are the results of cli- 
BQutic influences. For instance, one year is called a gootl 
"wheat year, and another bad— -one year too much rain and 
beat, another too much drought. These climatic influences, 
as all know, greatly affect the welfare of crops of all kinds. 

Agricultural causes are wholly within the control of the 
farmer, as they include the preparation of the soil and the 
process of cultivation, harvesting and storing: wheat. 

Constitutional causes are those which, through disease or 
insects, affect the plant. These causes of destruction or in- 
jury are, to a limited extent,, under the control of the agri- 
culturist, and it is to these the especial attention of every 
one is called. 

We have in the preceding pages of this report discussed the 
terrestrial causes of injury, and noted the remedies in most 
cases, which are deep plowing, draining where necessary. 



IN TENNESSEE. 163 

thorough tilth, such additions to tho soil as seem to be 
required, time of sowing, selection of seed, and in fact all 
the preparatory processes requisite on the part of the 
farmer. These matters have only to be referred to, to see 
the views taken, and what deficiencies of the soil are to be 
supplied. 

Atmospheric causes are so far removed from the control 
of man that he can only, by a proper observance of previous 
years, so mark the times and seasons as to take advantage of 
tliem, and by regulating the times of sowing and harvesting, 
avoid the ills as much as possible. Among the principal of 
these causes are late or untimely spring frosts, storms, hail, 
excessive rains, sudden changes of weather, etc. After long 
cool rains in the spring on rich land the wheat stalks some- 
j times become yellow, and many of them die. This is 

Jaundice, and can be prevented by providing a way for 
the super-abundant moisture to leave the ground. The 
remedy is draining. If the land is too stiff, and holds water 
in excess, manure plowed in, or any thing to make the soil 
porous, will afford relief. 

Blight. — This is a withered condition of the grain caused 
by dry weather just before ripening, after a strong, vigorous 
growth, from frequent rains. The dry weather has caused 
the grains to mature so rapidly the starch and gluten do not 
have time to fill the grain. This is unavoidable, and we 
can suggest no remedy. 

Lodging — When storms blow, the stalks bend before them, 
or break at or near the roots. All that bend, relieved of 
the rain drops, will become erect, but those that break fall 
to the ground, weeds grow up, and rust invariably attacks 
them, and the wheat is lost. This often results from wheat 
being sown on moist, rich land, deficient in silica. The 
stalks are large but watery, and easily broken. Nothing 
but draining and thorough cultivation will obviate this. 
It is better to avoid sowing on wet alluvial lands, un- 
less well drained. Where a locality is liable to the 



164 WHEAT CULTURE. 

prevalence of storms, varieties of wheat with strong short 
straw only shonld be sown. But we have already suffi- 
ciently dilated on this subject in the preceding pages, and 
will at once proceed to discuss the 

Agricultural Causes. — We have, in tlie whole of this re- 
port, adverted to the various agricultural appliances neces- 
sary to produce good wheat, also the causes of failure and 
the remedies. We have given the composition of the soils 
and their deficiencies, the preparation and sowing — in fact 
all the means by which the farmer might be benefited. One 
thing only is omitted of consequence, and this properly 
comes under the head of agricultural causes, and that [a 
germination of wheat in the shock. When we remember 
that only last year the wheat crop was greatly injured 
by continued rains, and when we reflect that this is only 
one instance of many in the recollection of every one, this sub- 
ject merits more than mere mention. Especially is this the 
case when we know that the remedy is wholy within the con- 
trol of the farmer. In order to produce germination there 
must be heat and moisture. These two must be conjoined or 
there will be no sprouted wheat. After sprouting, wheat is 
nearly worthless, both tor bread and seed. Therefore, it is 
but right and proper to provide against such a contingency. 
In the first place, if grain is just passed the dough state when 
cut, it will continue to fill up for a few days from the straw, 
and, until full maturity takes place, it will not sprout. 
That this method is preferred by many may be seen by 
reference to the appendix. The grain should never be 
allowed to remain on the ground exposed to the moisture 
of the earth, the dews, and the heat of the sun. It should 
at once be placed in such a position as to prevent the' influ- 
ence of moisture and favor drying. If properly shocked, 
it will remain safe from sprouting for an indefinite length 
of time. Almost every farmer has his favorite plan for 
shocking wheat ; the conical, the diamond, the square and 
the hand stacks are all practiced. The conical shocks or 



IN TENNESSEE. 165 

Dutch oven, are andoubtedly the best, aiul are easily made 
and will protect the wheat as long as required. Theyaie 
made by setting up four bundles, and around these four 
more, and then around four others, filling up spaces, 
until you have tw^elve bundles set up; then slip the bind 
to the butt end of a large bundle and, opening it oat, spread 
it like a tont all arouud the shock so as to hide from view 
all the heads. Then gather the butts of the covering bun- 
dles into a close point and bind it wdtli straw. Pull the 
cover down on the heads well, and this shock will withstand 
moisture and winds. It will also be veniilated sufficiently 
to prevent moulding. 

Wheat is usually threshed from the shock, the wagoners 
hauling up as fast as it is threshed, I am by no means 
certain that this is tlie best method. When well stacked 
there are several advantages to be derived. One is that 
the farmer can wait until the price suit's him, for it is a 
matter of regret that but few farmers in our State are 
provided with granaries, so that they are forced to sell at 
the time of threshing or suffer a greater loss from wastage 
on their wheat, or pay a considerable auiQunt to a wheat 
merchant for storage. Another advantage from stacking is, 
that the wheat goes through a sweat and will keep much 
better, and is not so liable to the attacks of weevil. 

But slacking wheat is a difficult thing to do well, and 
no novice should ever be put to this task. Of all grain, it 
is the most difficult to stack well. The middle of the stack 
must be kept well raised or else the beating rains will drive 
into tiie stack and greatly injure the grain. Having ad- 
■'Verted sufficiently to these causes here ibii4 in the previous 
part of this report, we will now briefly consider the last, 
or 

Constitutional causes, prejudicial to wheat. This head 
includes diseases of wheat and insects affecting it. Some 
of tliese are remediable, but unfortunately mo&t of them are 
not, in the present state of our knowledge.^ 



166 WHEAT CULTURE 

Vegetable Parasites. — If the reader will refer to the first 
part of our work, he will see that we divide the vegetable 
kingdom into two grand divisions. One, the Phenogams, 
that are propagated by seeds, and the other Cryptogams, or 
those having no visible seeds, bat are propagated by spores. 
It is the latter class to which I now wish to call attention. 
Had it not been for the invention of magnifying glasses, we 
never could have known the nature of the Cryptogams, but 
by the aid of the glass we know that this humble class of 
vegetation has an organization, birth, life and death very 
similar to other plants. It has its flowers, roots, branches, 
seeds, etc., and thougli minute, are perfect in all their parts. 
Mushroom, piiff balls, mould, mildew, rust, smut, and 
various others of the kind are samples of Cryptogams. 
Some of these parasites live at the expense of the plant upon 
which they fasten, as mistletoe, mould and many of the mush- 
rooms. The seeds of these parasites are called spores, 
which are a mere dust, microscopic in character generally, 
and are blown by the winds to their place of reproduction, 
or hide themselves in the fine hairs of seeds, or in their 
ibllicular mouths, and remain ready to germinate when 
moisture and heat are applied. Some of these parasites 
S'elect wheat as their place of concealment and growth, and 
are so exceedingly injurious to the farmer that the attention 
of scientific men has been turned to them for years, try- 
\n<y to devise some means for their eradication. We will 
fii'st consider 

M'ddeio — 8mh^ Bpot. — Sometimes, in moist, warm days, 
this proves very destructive to wheat, coming at the 
time of maturity, just as everything is promising to the 
larmer. It is the same that forms a mould on cloth ex- 
]>osed to heat and moisture, and forms whitish patches on 
cloth or plants. This disease does not often appear in 
Tennessee, being, however, common in the colder Northern 
States. There is no remedy for it. It is a parasite that 
forms on, or rather under, the cuticle of the leaf, and 



IN TENNESSEE, 167' 

forms a dark colored scab oa it, and this will soon destroy 
the leaf, or stem if located on it. It is called scab in some 
localities, and in others spot. ■» 

Caries or Blach Wheat. — This is a fungous mushroom 
called Uredo, and is often mistaken for smut, which it 
greatly resembles. A marke i distinction between them is 
that while a part only of the head, or even of a grain, may 
be affected with caries, it is not often the case with smut, the 
latter generally involving not only the whole head, but all 
the heads of one stool. ! he spores of this and other mush- 
rooms of the same kind cling to the furs of a grain of wheat, 
and go into the ground with it. It is there taken up with 
the nourishment of the plant and passes into the body. 
When the head forms, the spores that have increased and 
traversed every part of the plant, now attack the grain, and 
the juices that are brought up to feed and develop the grain 
are absorbed by this voracious parasite, and it, growiiig with 
nourishment, soon fills the places designed to contain the 
berry. Tiiere is another marked difference between smut 
and caries. While the smut emits no odor whatever, the 
caries smells very disagreeable — like a spoiled fish. Bread 
made with caries n it will give that smell when broken 
open while hot. Smut can be knocked off by mills, but 
caries, being more tenacious, is not to be got rid of that 
way, and will stick to the wheat with any treat- 
ment short of washing, and imparts its odor to the bread. 
The stalk looks like a smut stalk except being deeper 
green than others, but later on it becomes tarnished. The 
heads are bluish, larger, and more bristly, and the sub- 
stance blackish and greasy to the fingers. The same remedy 
as that applied for smut is equally effective, viz: blue 
vitriol or bluestone, (sulphate of copper). The most ap- 
proved method is to dissolve two pounds of bluestone ia 
two gallons of water and sprinkle this mixture on five 
bushels of wheat until it is thoroughly wet, then dry and 
sow, or sow without drying. This not only destroys the 



16*8 ^V^HEAT CULTURE 

spores of the mushroom, but it also destroys all diseased 
grains, and so lets the whole crop come up healthy; and be- 
sides, it protects the seed from insects and birds, the blue- 
stone, being poisonous, kills insects easily. Another 
equally effectual way is to dampen the pile with salt water, 
and.then sprinkle it with air-slacked lime. This also acts 
as. a. fertilizer. 

Smut, like caries, is a parasite mushroom, and destroys 
and replaces the organs in which it is developed. Some- 
times it attacks the leaves and stems, but generally the 
grains. It not only infests wheat but oats, barley and corn. 
The stalks are not easily distinguished in the field from those 
that. are sound, except being a little paler and &f a less height. 
Before ripe, the heads are of a grayish color, and as they 
ripen they become a dingy black. When broken, smut is a 
black powder and without smell. The sporules are very 
small and are produced within the plant, being carried there 
from the grain by means of the sap. Sometimes a large pro- 
portion of the field is smut, as much as two-thirds sometimes 
being involved. It attacks wheat in wet or dry weather 
alike, and on all kinds of soil. When a field has been affect- 
etl with smut one year, it is very apt to be affected the next, 
as the sporules are scattered from the affected grain and re- 
main in the soil growing, and pass thence into the next crop, 
even wLere the wheat ha^ been treated with bluestone. The 
spores are not injurious to man when taken in as food, nor is 
the straw injurious to cattle. The same treatment that is used 
lor caries is good for smut, namely: bluestone, salt and 
lime. By reference to the description of caries the reader 
will get all the necessary information on the subject. 

Itu.st, like the others, belongs to the family of mush- 
room, and is developed on the stems, leaves and heads of 
the Graminacese. The x^pores of this parasite are carried by 
the winds and deposited on the different parts, where they 
soon take root and split ^the skin, and the sap exuding 
sreapves as nutriment to the excrescence. They are also taken 



IN TENNESSEE. 



169 



from the soil with the nutrient juices and carried into the 
plant, and wherever they stop they cause the skin to burst, 
and the fungus appears. By referring to tlie plate, fig. 6, two 

Fig. 6. 




sections of the stalk will be been seen in which the rust has 
burst open the skin and shows itself on the surface. Fig. 3 
shows the rust plants as they appear under the microscope, 
and Fig. 4 shows them still more magnified. Here they 
have every appearance of the mushroom. As a matter of 
course, when numerous, they extract all the nutrient juices 
for their own support, and the grain shrivels up and is 
worthless. When rust attacks only the leaves, little harm 
is done, but when it is scattered over the leaves and stalks, 
and the weather becomee warm and moist, it grows rap- 
idly and quickly destroys the crop. After the rust begins, a 
complete arrest of the filling out of the grain takes place. 
If the grains are in the dough state when it begins, it is 
better then to cut the wheat; if the grains are in the miJk 
state it will not be worth cutting. It rarely attacks wheat 
that ripens early, hence it is better to sow early varieties, 
so it will mature before the hot days aid in the develop- 
ment of the disease. 



170 WHEAT CULTURE 

Here, as in 11 the mushroom diseases, well drained and 
well cultivated fields, early sowing and early cutting, are 
the only remedies except for smut, for which we have blue- 
stone. Still, that too, is to a great extent, avoided by this 
plan of thorough cultivation, making vigorous stalks that 
are able to withstand the ravages of these parasites. Some 
suggest sowing salt and lime on the ground, and these being 
powerful stimulants to the growth, no doubt act to advan- 
tage. A distinguished German agriculturist states that 
about six hours before sowing his wheat, he prepared a steep 
of three measures of powdered quick-lime and ten meas- 
ures of cow urine, and poured two quarts of this on a peck 
of wheat, stirring the wheat until every grain was white 
with the preparation. By this he escaped rust entirely, 
although in neighboring fields a great part was affected with 
the disease. He has followed the practice for many years 
with complete success. It is probable this stimulating mix- 
ture made the growth of the plant so vigorous it escaped by 
its own inherent strength. A top dressing of stable manure, 
followed by harrowing, will have the same effect. The 
Hebrews considered this disease a special dispensation of 
Providence for the sins of the people. The Romans sacri- 
ficed a red bitch to the goddess Rubrigo to stay the hand of 
the destroyer. If this would effect any good result, would 
it not be a good idea to sacrifice a few of all colors ? 

Cutting wheat while affected with rust seems to destroy 
the parasite, and what juices remain in the straw go to fill 
out the grain. Good wheat has been saved in this manner 
that would have been worthless if left in the field to get 
ripe. 



IN TENNESSEE. 171 



CHAPTER XX. 

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO WHEAT. 

We will give ouly a passing notice of those insects that 
have never troubled farmers in Tennessee. The list is a 
fearful one, but fortunately tiiey, as a rule, are confined to 
cold, damp climates. By consulting the appendix, it will 
be seen that but few have committed depredations here, 
neither the Hessian fly, weevil, joint-worn, grasshopper, nor 
"fleas," as mentioned by one gentleman. Of these, far the 
most formidable and general is the Hessian fly — (Cecidomyia 
iJesfructor.) _ fly was not known Am rica previous 

to the Revolution, and got its name from the Hessian sol- 
diers, who were supposed to have introduced it. It traveled 
at the rate of twenty miles a year, until the whole United 
States became infested with it. It does not aiFect the whole 
country at once, but seems to ravage one section for a few 
years, and then disappears, and may not return for several 
years. It is smaller than the mosquito, which it greatly 
resembles. The female deposits its eggs on the blade of 
the young wheat before frost, where they appear like minute 
reddish spots, one - fiftieth of an inch in diameter. The 
eggs hatch in a week, if the weather is warm, and produce 
small, \vhite maggots, ,Viiii:n pass down eaf until they 

reach the joint, where they remain until the pupa, or coc- 
coon, is formed. These maggots suck the juices of the 
plant, which withers, though there may be several tillers 
from the same stool that make vigorous stalks. In the 
spring the young "fly" issues from the pupa, and again 
deposits eggs on the wheat, and the young maggots of the 
spring crop fasten on the upper joints, and again the work 
of destruction begins. The injuries of the fly are noticed 



172 WHEAT CULTURE. 

by the withered or broken straws to be seen all over the 
field, and this destruction is sometimes so complete the har- 
vest is worthless. The joints where the maggot rests be- 
come swollen, and dispose the stem to break with the slightest 
w'ind. It does not penetrate the stalk, but rests in the boot 
of the leaf and stalk, or sheath. Various insects prey upon 
these maggots, and thus save immense quantities of wheat. 

Tiiese insects are so numerous that, it is said, not more 
than one-tenth of the Hessian-fly eggs ever hatch. The 
Platygaster family and Ceraphon Destructor arc the names 
of these silent friends of the farmer. No remedy has yet 
been discovered for the " fly." Late sowing, so the wheat 
will not rise out of the ground until after the frosts have 
destroyed the fly, is the most effective way of arresting its 
ravages. Thorough tilth, producing vigorous plants, also 
conduces to the protection of the grain. Selection of wheat 
that has a strong silicious straw, will protect it from being 
penetrated to the sap. The Mediterranean was at one time 
considered fly proof. A fertile soil, rich in all the elements 
necessary to mature the wheat early, is spoken of; also, 
soaking the wheat in stimulating substances, and rolling in 
guano, plaster, lime and ashes^ have all been recommended. 
Grazing wath sheep is said to destroy the eggs, but they 
hatch so quickly, it would be a difficult matter for them all 
to be destroyed before being reached by the animals. It 
can hardly ever be wholly destroyed, as the laws of equi- 
librium between animal and vegetable life are such they 
cannot be set aside, and all we can hope is to keep the fly 
within limits. It has been said the "fly," by stimulating 
the farmers to a better system of farming, has been an actual 
advantage to the country. 

Tlie Joint-worm. — This is a worm that infests the joints 
of wheat, and in some sections proves more destructive to 
wheat than all other insects, including the Hessian fly, with 
which it is often confounded. The insect is very much like 
the fly, but lays its eggs in the spring on the leaves. These 



IN TENNESSEE. 173 

eggs hatch and drop into the sheath, and instead of remaining 
here, as do the maggot of the Hessian fly, they penetrate the 
joint, causing a swelling. The worm interferes with the 
passage of the sap, besides devouring all it needs, and then 
the stalk becomes brittle, and is easily blown down. It re- 
mains in the straw during the autumn and winter, and going 
into the ground the next spring, undergoes the usual changes, 
and becomes again a fly, to renew its depredations. Wheat 
straw affected with it should always be burned at the 
thresher, as this is the only way even to mitigate the evih 

Weevil (Cakindre Granaria). — After .wheat has been 
passed through all tlie perils of harvest, and escaped all the 
ravages of insects, diseases and storms, the farmer, having 
stored it in the bins, feels that at last he is rewarded for his 
toils, and his troubles are over. But sometimes when he 
visits his treasure he finds a funky smell, and notices a 
minute white dust all over his wheat. Pressing a grain, he 
finds it will easily crush in his fingers; in fact the wheat 
grain is a mere shell, partly filled with dust. The result of 
his labor is gone, and the enemy he had watched and fought 
so persistently has found an entrance to his domains. A 
small black beetle has lain in wait during all the cold months, 
being a lover of warm weather, and as soon as the wheat 
is stored, it comes out in myriads, and the female bites a 
minute hole in a grain, and deposits therein an egg. These 
insects penetrate the heap in all directions, going to the 
bottom of it; and when it is reflected that each female will 
lay thousands of eggs one may imagine their destructive- 
ness. These eggs soon hatch, and young maggots begin to 
boi-e into and eat the starch. They continue to do this un- 
til grown, and by this time the grain is about exhausted, 
and then the worms go into the pupa state, and in six or 
seven weeks become weevils or beetles, which eat their way 
out of the grain, and go into some cranny for the winter. 

The best method of getting clear of them is to store in 
some other place for a year or two, or fumigate the with bin 



174 WHEAT CULTURE 

burning sulphur. Some farmers sprinkle air-slaked lime 
on the wheat, and yet others sprinkle it Avith salt. Both 
these remedies are effectual, but the sulphur will be suffi- 
cient. There are many other parasites that trouble the 
wheat farmers of other States, but this closes the list men- 
tioned herCj and we will onlv call attention to a few others, 
that the community may be on the watch for them. 

Chinch Bugs.-— 'The terror of all the Northern States. 
They destroyed nearly all the wheat in North Carolina from 
1783 to 1809, and have troubled the State occasionally since 
They are small beetles, black, with white wings, and make 
their aj)pcarance about the time of the ripening of wheat. 
They very soon destroy the crop, and then pass into any ad- 
jacent fields, and attack corn, oats, barley, or rye. They 
travel like grasshoppers, going from farm to farm in the 
course of their destruction. Dry weather favors them, while 
wet weather destroys them. 

Midge {Chorodomus) is an insect allied to the Hes.sian fly, 
and in the Northern States is very destructive. They" resemble 
common gnats, and hide during the day in the wheat fodder, 
but at night issue forth in clouds, and cover the heads 
about flowering i\xn?. Tliey deposit their eggs in the husks, 
or glumes, of the head, and here they hatch. When the 
grain forms, or begins to form, the larvse of the insect that 
have hatched out feed on the grain until it is destroyed. 
AVhen only one or two larvse are in a glume, or husk, the 
grain to some extent is developed, but if nine or ten are on 
it, all the juices, intended for the development of the grain, 
go to the worms. When grown, these larva? double them- 
selves up, and, like mites in cheese, spring to the earth, 
where they lodge until the next spring, when they go 
through the stage of pupa, the chrysalis, and lastly the fly, 
ready for a repetition of their ravages. In Maine alone, in 
one year, they caused the loss of one million dollar's worth 
of wheat. Let us hope this pest will not reach us soon. 

Tlie \Vire-v:orm, a product of the common Jack- snapper, 



IK TENNESSEE, 175 

a coiiinion bug, drives into the roots of wheat, and remains, 
greatly to its injury. 

This ends the list of animal parasites we have to con- 
tend with, except the grasshopper that has proved so 
terrible to the farmers of the North-west. It has been on 
us only to a very limited extent, being free on account of 
our geograpliical position. It will hardly ever prove for- 
midable. 

In regard to these evils, the watchfulness of the 
farmer should be unceasing. We may take any measures 
we please, but failure will mark them all, unless we use the 
most sensible methods of culture. Whatever will conduce to 
make a large paying crop of wheat, will tend to protect it 
from the depredations of both vegetable and animal para- 
sites. So the interest of the farmer is here advanced in a 
double way. No great outlay for remedies is required that 
will be a total loss to the farmer, but everything to be ap- 
plied adds just that much to the value of the crop. It is in 
this way it was justly said the farmers of Long Island, 
when the Hessian ily first made its appearance, from being 
very slovenly farmers, reaping a very scanty return for poor 
work, in their efforts to overcome the fly, became in time 
the most intelligent and successful farmers of New York. 
In the appendix it will be seen much is said in regard to 
the disposition of straw. Some let it rot where threshed ; 
some S])read it on galled places ; some rick or stack it for 
stock, and others l)urn it to destroy insects. Taken alone, 
wheat straw is very nearly \torthless a manure, while, 

with manure, it will assist as an absorbent in making very 
rich compost heaps. It is also a fair feed to allow cattle to 
go to at will. Scattered on the ground, it amounts to sim- 
ply, or nearly, nothing. Besides, it is an harbor for the 
concealment of all manner of insects, and will form a nucleus 
the next year for their depredations. A highly intelligent 
farmer of Middle Tennessee stacks carefully all the straw 
and chaff, the separators used for threshing throwing them 



176 WHEAT CULTURE 

out together, and during the winter he makes large "racks/' 
by crossing rails on a pole on the poor places on his farm. 
He fills one after another of these racks with the straw, and 
turns all his loose stock — cattle, sheep, mules, or horses — ■ 
into the enclosure, and continues to fill the rack, and let 
them eat until, from the droppings of the stock, and the 
treading into the ground of loose straw, the soil is rich with 
manures. He then removes the rack to some other spot, 
and takes it through the same process. As soon after its 
removal as the ground will admit, he breaks up the land, 
turning under all the accumulations, and then sows it, as 
soon as the proper times arrives, with oats, clover and orch- 
ard-grass. This gives it a turf, and the vivifying influences 
of the clover gives it a new soil. In this manner he has re- 
stored all the worn places on his farm, and they no more 
remain as eye-sores. This is, beyond question, far better 
than either burning or scattering ; besides, it it the best way 
to stop gullies. 



rnri i ii i rit 



APPENDIX. 



12 



APPENDIX 



Schedule of Questions Sent Out and Anstoers Beoeived. 



Sames of correspondents. 



POST OFFICE. 



COUNTIES. 



10. 
11. 

12. 
13. 
14. 
35. 
36. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 
23. 
24. 
25. 
26. 
27. 
28. 
29. 
00. 



J. H. Light I 

Will. WiJIiaiiis Edgefield Davidson. 

Robt.P. Rhea Blountville Sullivan. 

J as. H. Pailon... Trezevant .jCarroIl. 

J. S. Lindsay Jacksboro |CampbelI, 

P. A. MitcheJ] Jasper Marion. 

M. J. Rannott Stray,' berry PI aius Jefferson. 

G. O. Gate Ooltowah Jame?. 

H. H. Matlock 'Riceville JMcMinn. 

Geo. T. Allmaii Cornei-sviile jMarshall. 

F. M. Wood all jNaslivi lie iDavidson. 

E. F. Sharp ITen Mile JMeigs. 

D. P. Williams Brownsville Haywood. 

Wm. Johnson 'Clarksburg Carroll. 

Henry B. Clay iNew Canton 'Hawkins. 

-Joseph Matthews 'Athens >.... McMinn. 

L. F. Leeper 'Witt's Foundry 'Hamblen. 

W. P. Smallwood IParis iHenry. 

H. C. Whittaker 'New Market ...'jeifer.son. 

J. J. Pope Stephens Chapel iBiedsoe. 

Cockrill & Hicks jNaphviile 'Davidson. 

J. A. Tin-ley 'Cog Hill jMcMinn. 

PL H. Lovelace.... ,Coiuo ..,, „. Henry. 

J. A. Campbell IMurfreesboro Rutherford. 

P. H. Cook jJasper 'Marion. 

Ham Herd New O'nlon,. ............... JHawkins. 



W. M. aark Franklin .. 

Unsigned I 

J.C. Murphy ISevierville 

W. F. Anderson ....,.,.,.,, 



Williamson. 

Sevier, 



180 



WHEAT CULTUEE 



NAMES OF COKKESPONDENTS. 



31. A. J. Hallibi! rton 

32. S.E.Taylor 

33. John Alley 

U. "W. E. itucker 

35. Elijah Dougherty 

36. James Liimun 

37. Wm. F. Jarratt... 

38. W. C.Peak.. 

39. S.E.Saunders 

40. Daniel Haynes.... 

41. James M. Stewart 

42. Erby Boyd 

43. H.Skagga 

44. A. E.N. Blunt 

45. H. C. Anderson... 

46. J.iSatLyle.... , 

47. David McCrosky.. 

48. Joshua Uoode 



POST OEEICE. 



Murf reesboro 

Brownsville 

Walnut Valley 

Cleveland 

Baker's Gap 

Chattanooga 

Pinkhoook Landing 

Haynes' P. O 

Dnnlap 

Benton 

Maynardville 

Cleveland 

Carolina P. O 

Dandi'idge 

Cleveland 

Huntsville 



COUNTIES. 



Rutherford. 

Haywood. 

Sequatchie. 

Bradley. 

Johnson. 

Hamilton. 

Meigs county. 

Union. 

Sequatchie. 

Polk. 

Union. 

Bradley county. 

Haywood count;; 

Jefferson. 

Bradley. 

Scott. ' 



IN TENNESSEE. 181 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 



Please give me the princixial varieties grown in your 
•county ? 

1. White and Walker. 

2. Boughton, Fultz, Deihl and Mediterranean. 

3. Mediterranean, Boughton, White, Blue-stem and others. 

4. Eed-ehaif, Little Eed, May and Purple-straw. 

5. Tappahannock, Bearded Quaker, Fultz and Walker. 

6. Boughton, Fultz, Walker, Spring-bearded and Harris. 

7. Tappahannock, BoEghton and Fultz. 

8. Boughton, Golden-straw and White. 

9. Boughton and White. 

10. Tappahannock — miscalled Boughton-Fultz, and a docen other va- 

rieties with local names. 

11. Fultz, Boughton, Amber and May. 

12. Boughton and White, 

13. Early May, Red-chaff and Tappahannock. 

14. Eed-chaff, Mediterrannean and White. 

15. Lancaster, Eed Quaker, Boughton and FultE. 

16. Boughton, Purple-straw and White, are all that are successfiiL 

17. White, Quaker, Walker, Fultz, Boughton, Tubman, etc. 

18. Tappahannock and Eed May. 

19. Boughton, Fultz and Lancaster. 

20. White, Walker and Italian. 

21. Amber, Fultz, Boughton. 

22. Walker, Boughton and Fultr. 

23. Tappahanock, Eed-chaff' and May. 

24. Fultz, Walker, Boughton, Genessee and Mediterranean. 

25. Boughton, Walker, Harris, Mediterranean or Cuba, Orleans and 

Fultz. 
28. Mediterrannean, known here as Penn, and Eed-chaff. 
2 7. Boughton, May and Ambez*. 



182 WHEAT CULTUEE 

28. Red May, Tappahannock, Red-chafi", White Bovers. 

29. Tappahannnock, Fultz and Walker. 

30. Boughton, Walker and Blue-atem. 

31. Red May, Red-chafF and Tappahannock. 

32. Red M-iy, and Red or Golden-chafF. 

33. Moore or Mere White, Walker and Orleans. 

34. Boughton, Pennsylvania, White Orlean?, Quaker and Walker» 

35. Boughton, Walker, Lancaster, Bearded-white and Fultz. 

36. Boughton and White principally. 

37. Red May, Red Chaft", White Boughton, Tappahannock . 

38. Boughton and Fultz. 

39 Walker, Red Fultz, Purple-straw and Mediterranean. 

40. White or Blue-stem, Walker and Fultz. 

41. Walker, Mediterranean, Orlean.^ and Fultz. 

42. Fultz, Red Boughton and White. 

43. Walker, Boughton, Blue-straw, Red. 

44. Boughton, Golden-straw, Fultz and Walker. 

45. Red May, Tappahannock and Red-chafT. 

46. Boughton, Fultz, Tappahannock, Capron and Walker. 

47. Boughton, Fullz, Walker, Orleans, Golden-straw, (limited), Wheat 

limited. 

48. Very little in the county. 

Which variety is best suited to your soil and climate. 

1. White is preferred. 

2. Fulz and Boughton, and I am pleased v/Ith Jennings. 

3. Mediterranean. 

4. Red-chaff, Red May or Purple-straw. 

5. Tappahannock and Quaker. 

6. W^iilker is least liable to disease, but all other varieties do well, when 

free from disease. 

7. White wheat generally, or Fultz. 

8. This question is hard to answer correctly — Boughton is most sown. 

9. The above variety. 

10. The Tappahannock commands most ; Fultz yields most bushels — each 

have enemies who claim theirs best. 

11. Fultz. 

12. The above. 

13. Early May. 

14. Red. 

15. Lancaster, Red and Fultz. 

16. The above varieties. 

17. Quaker, White, Boughton, Walker and Fulta; all do well. 

18. Tapahannock. 



IN TENNESSEE. 183 

19. Fultz. 

20. Walker and Italian. 

21. Amber and Fultz. 

22. Walker stands freeze best, but Bougliton gives best quality and j ield, 

23. Tappahannock. 
24. 

25. Walker and Cuba ; all named sometimes do well. 

26. Mediterranean. 

27. Fultz, Amber and Boughton. 

28. Ked May and Tappahannock. 

29. Tappahannock. 

30. Boughton or Walker. 

31. I cannot say positively. May wheat has been longest in use and freest 

from disease. 

32. I have succeeded best with Eed-chaff. 

33. Moore ; don't know its generic name. 

34. Boughton and Pennsylvania White. 

35. All varieties named do well, but Fultz preferred by most iaimers. 

36. So far as my experience goes Boughton is best. 

37. White Boughton. 

38. Those who have tried both prefer Fultz. 

39. Purple-stem and Mediterranean. 

40. White or Blue-stem — same wheat. 

41. Walker, Orleans and White. 

42. Both well adapted to climate and soil ; Boughton and White. 

43. Bed. 

44. Golden-straw. 

45. Red May, earliest, see.ms best, but Tappahannock yields most. 

46. Tappahannock and Fultz. 

47. Boughton and Golden-straw for strong lands ; Walker and Fultz for 

thin. 

48. White. 

Varieties preferred by millers? 

1. White ; other varieties are not used as much as white. 

2. Boughton and Fultz. 

3. Boughton, 

4. Bed May Wheat. 

5. Tappanannock and Fultz. 

6. Boughton and Walker. 

7. White, as they pay most for it. 

8. Boughton. 

9. Same varieties. 

10. Any first-class white wheat. 



184 WHEAT CULTIFEE 

11. Fultz. 

12. Bough ton and white. 

13. May. 

14. Ked makes finer than Mediterraneaix 

15. Boughton. 

16. The same. 

17. White and Boughton. 

18. Tappahannock. 

19. Bouyhton. 

20. White. * 

21. Amber. 

22. Walker and Boughton, perhaps the latter. 

23. Eed-chaif makes largest yield. 

24. Walker. 

25. Boughton, Walker and Spring Wheat. 

26. White varieties. 

27. Amber. 

28. White by 10 per cent, in bushel. 

29. Tappahannock. 

30. Boughton and white. 

31. Eed-chaff preferred by some, cannot say which is generally. 

32. Ked-chatr. 

33. White. 

34. Last two above-named. 

35. No flour manufactured but for home use, not much difference 

varieties. 

36. It is most preferable by millers. 

37. Bed May or Ked-chafT. 

38. Divided. 

39. W^alker and Red. 

40. White or Blue-stem. 

41. White. 

42. Boughton and White. 
43. 

44. Same, it makes more and better flour. 

45. Some prefer White, others Red. 

46. Walker or Amber. 

47. Boughton and Golden-straw. 

48. White. 

Is there any Spring Wheat grown, and to what extent ? 

1. Very little, if any. 

2. None. 

3. None. 



IN TENNESSEE. 185 



4. No. 

5. None. 

6. None. 

7. None. 

8. None. 

9. None. 

10. None. 

11. None. 

12. None. 

13. None. 

14. None. 

15. None. 

16. None. 

17. None. 

18. None. 

19. None. 

20. None. 

21. None. 

22. Very little, not satisfactory. 

23. None. 

24. None. 

25. Half the crops of the county are Spring Wheat. 

26. None. 

27. None raised, tried and failed, 

28. Small amount, and inferior. 

29. None. 

30. None. 

31. Failures. 

32. None, tried and failed. 

33. None. 

34. None, to my knowledge. 

35. None worth noticing. Don't do well. 

36. No Spring Wheat raised here. 

37. None. 

38. None, that I know of. 

39. None. 

40. None at all. 

41. None. 

42. None. 

43. "Very little. 

44. None. 

45. None. 

46. Very little. 

47. None. 

48. Very little. 



186 WHEAT CULTUEE 

What kind of soil is best adapted to the growth of wheat ? 

1. Our district is usually gray limestone, rather red and black soil. 

2. Rich land the most, poor land the best grain. 

3. Gravelly and slate. High. 

4. High thin land. 

5. Limestone, stiff sub-soil, rich loam. 

6. Clay loam. 

7. Mulatto. 

S. Our high mulatto. 

9. Gravelly loam with stiff clay sub-soil. 

10. Rolling and gravelly land. 

11. Upland land. 

12. Our mulatto land is said to be best. 

13. 

14. Land with clay foundation and fresh land, 

15. Upland with clay sub-soil and river bottom. 

16. High rich ridge land. 

17. Strong sugar tree and beech land lying fair to the sun. 

18. Clay. 

19. Limestone clay. ' 

20. Limestone soil and mulatto soil. 

21. Clay. 

22. Red mulatto. 

23. Clay sub-soil. 

24. 

25. Lime and river loam. 

26. Limestone clay. 

27. Gravelly loam. 

28. Dry, rich land containing the most lime, 

29. Limestone mulatto. 

30. Red mulatto. 

31. A dry alluvial soil. Bottoms would do well if drained. 

32. I succeed well on rich loam, well drained. 

33. Loose gvavelly upland. 

.34. Limestane first, black gravelly ridge land second, slate third. 

35. All lands lying fair to the sun where the soil is good. 

36. In my experience river bottom and alluvial mixed with sand. 

37. High loam. 

38. Red mulatto and black gravelly land. 

39. Medium upland. 

40. Blackhaw, heavy soil land hard to manage. 

41. Strong limestone. 

42. Red clay pan. 

43. Limestone or valley clay. 



IN TENNESSEE. 187 

44. Land underlaid by deep red sub-soil. 

45. Clay soil with black pebbles mixed has made most for me. Pipe clay 
is good. 

46. Gravelly upland. 

47. Gray gravel, strong soil for quantity. Fertilizers improve. 

48. Limestone. 

After what crop does wheat make the largest yield ? 

1. Clover. 

2. Depends a great deal on the season ; am unable to tell. 

3. Red clover. 

4. Tobacco, clover, oats. 

5. Ked clover. 

6. Clover. 

7. Clover and perhaps lobacco. 

8. Clover and peas. 

9. Clover. 

10. Some say cotton. I prefer clover, though all depends on thorough 

preparation. 

11. Clover first, then potatoes, and then late millet. 

12. Clover. 

13. Clover. 

14. Clover and tobacco. 

15. Clover. 

16. Clover plastered the previous spring. 

17. Tobacco and clover. 

18. Clover and peas. 

19. After oats that have followed corn. 

20. Clover ; my experience is after corn. 

21. C'over. 

22. Clovtr and peas turned under in July or August. 

23. Tobacco. 

24. Clover. 

25. Clover beyond a doubt. 

26. Clover. 

27. Clover, clover, clover. 

28. Peas, tobacco and cotton. 

29. Corn upon which cow peas are raised and turned under, clover and 

turned under. 

30. After clover. 

31. Cotton decidedly. 

32. Clover decidedly. 

33. Clover. 

34. Clover and timothy, peas and tobacco. 

35. Clover. 



188 WHEAT CULTURE 

86. Clover turned over ; gras3 and stubble better than corn. 
37. Clover always. 
36. Clover. 

39. Clover. 

40. Clover. 

41. Clover. 

42. Clover. 

43. 

44. Clover and cow peas. 

45. Clover fallow. 

46. Stable manure or red clover. 

47. Stock peas after oats. 

48. Clover. 

Wliat is the relative yield of wheat on clover, fallow, corn, 
or tobacco land ? 

1. From 8 to 20 bushels. 

2. Am disappointed in sowing wheat after clover. 

3. About 8 to 9 bushels. 

4. Clover or tobacco, 20; corn or fallow land 12 bushels per acre, 

5. Clover 15, fallow 12, corn 8, cannot answer as to tobacco. 

6. Twenty per cent, in favor of clover land. 

7. Clover 15, fallow 10, corn 8, tobacco, don't know. 

8. Wheat after clover, from 20 to 35 bushels; fallow, 10 to 15; from 

corn, from 6 to 8 ; no tobacco cultivated. 

9. Clover over corn from 50 to 200 per cent. ; no fallow or tobacco. 

10. Twenty bushels per acre in well prepared clover land; no tobacco 

raised only in small patches. 
•11. Don't know. 

12. Clover will double corn land ; we raise no tobacco. 

13. Clover best, cotton next, corn, etc. 

14. Clover, about 10 bushels ; tobacco same ; corn, about 6 bushels per 

acre. 

15. Little or no fallowing; proportion — 3 clover, 2 tobacco, 1^ corn land. 

16. Clover about double any other. 

17. Clover, 8 to 30 bushels; corn, from 4 to 10. 

18. Clover 100, corn 80, tobacco 90. 
19. . 

20. Clover land, 8 bushels; corn same; we rarely sow fallow; tobacco not 

cultivated. 

21. Clover 25 per cent better than corn ; no tobacco land. 

22. Fifteen bushels on clover, 12 on fallow, 6 on corn, have rrot tried 

tobacco. 



IN TENNESSEE. 189 

23. Clover, 12 to 15 ; corn, 8 to 10 ; tobacco, 15 to 20. 

25. Clover, 10 to 12; corn, 5 to 6 ; fallow, 8. 

26. Clover 1 ; corn h, unless corn follows clover, then f . 

27. Twenty -five, 15, 8 and 15 bushels. 

28. Can't answer satisfactorily. 

29. Clover or fallow yield double corn without cow-peas; no tobacco 

land. 

30. Clover, 12 to 18; corn, 6 to 10 bushels per acre. 

31. But little clover cultivated here ; and no tobacco until recently. 

32. Eaise no tobacco ; corn land preferred to fallow. 

33. Clover 15, corn 10. 

34. Not prepared to answer. 

35. Clover-fallow is far best, 40 per cent.; no tobacco raised of conse- 

quence. 

36. Clover, 18 bushels; fallow in prime condition, same; no experience 

with tobacco. 

37. Twelve or 15 bushels. 

38. Clover, 11 to 12 ; fallow, 8 to 10 ; corn, 4 to 6. 

39. Clover, 33J per cent, better. 

40. Clover, 14 per acre ; corn or fallow, 8 to 10. 

41. Clover, best by 25 or 50 per cent. 

42. Clover, 33 highest. 

43. Eight to 12 bushels. 

44. [n proportion, 10, 7, 6, 5. 

45. Our yield from 6 to 20 bushels, as the land is good or bad. 

46. Safe to say 2 bushels to 1. 

47. No test worth reporting. 

48. Not much difference between clover and tobacco land. 

AVhat is the best yield, and what the average per acre ? 

1. About 12 to 15 bushels. 

2. Twenty bushels and 10 bushels. 

3. . 

4. Purple-straw, 12 bushels. 

5. An average of 42 bushels in a ten-acre field. 

6. Thirty-five bushels ; average 6 bushels. 

7. Best, 24 bushels; average in ten years, 11 bushels. 

8. Thirty bushels ; average 8 bushels. 

9. Forty-five bushels best yield ; 6 bushels average for county. 

10. Twenty -five bushels for some years ; I hear of 30. 

11. In 1876, 36 16-60 bushels ; in 1877 the average will be 12. 

12. About 25 bushels ; average 6. 

13. Twenty bushels; averages. 



190 WHEAT CULTURE 

14. Twenty bushels; average 6; mostly corn land sown. 

15. Thirty-seven bushels in 1857 ; average below 7. 

16. Best, 30 • average, 5. 

17. Forty bushels, but this is not common. 

18. Thirty-five bushels; average 8 bushels. 

19. Forty bushels ; average of county, 5 or 6 bushels. 

20. Sometimes 30 bu.«hels; average not ovei" 7. 

21. Twenty bushels ; average 10 bushels. ' 

22. A wide range, 2 to 30 bushels per acre ; average 10. 

23. Thirty-five bushels; average 10 bushels. 

24. Best, 20 bushels ; average 10 bushels. 

25. Twenty, be.st in county. 

26. Twenty bushels often made; average 7 bushels. 

27. From 3 to 85 ; average about 8. 

28. About 25 bushels ; average 7. 

29. Best, 25 budieis; average 9 bushels. 

30. Eighteen to 20 ; average from 7 to 1 0. 

31. Clover best', cannot state average yield. 

32. I have made on clover 82 bushels per acre; average in connty 8 

bushels. 
83. Avei^go per acre, 74. 
34, Forty-one and 86 bushels on well prepared land. 

85. Best, 25 to SO bushels; fivemge not more than 8. 

86. Bi^st, SO bushels ; avernge 8 bushelfi. 

87. Best, 25 bushels; average 12 biitdie's. 

38. Best, 20 ; average 8. 

39. Best 29S, Golden-clioff^ average 7(| bushels. 

40. Average, 8 bushels. 

41. T\venly4ive bushels.: average 7 bushels. 

42. Twenty-five best; average 7 bushels. 

43. T^venty : nvernge 6. 

44. Best yield bj hiVftelf, per acre, &! iTiGD bushels, Golden-slraw, 
4=?. Very best, 83 \ avei^ge 9 or 10. 

4'6, Si's!, 40 bushels ; average, 6 to 7. 

47. On «mall plat, 67 bughels; otherB, ZB bushels. 

48. Best, 1& ibi-'20; 'average U bushels. 

To wlrat diseases ,is ^vheat liafok, and wbat remedy do 
you flp})iy ? 

1. Smut J 'sot^li Ihe/grMnHn Wue'Stone. 

2. Jtust, .non«. Bmnt, sulphur and copper. 

8. .JDinT-iYorm,spot midriiKlj 'apply jio lemedy. 
4. Smu!, use Wue-'stone. Euet, sow thick awd early. 



IN TENNESSEE. 191 

5. Eust, smut, spot, Hessian Fly ; no remedy for rust or spot, blue-stone 

for smut. 

6. Eust, stQUt, spot ; use no remedy, but blue-stone is remedy for sraut 

or salt, 

7. Smut, remedy blue-stone ; rust and fly, no remedy that I know. 

8. Eust, on lowland spot ; I know no reaiedy for eitber. 

9. Eust, spot and smut, and occasionally joint-worm ; bjueslonefor smut, 

superior culture and manure for others. 

10. Smut and rust, blue-stone for former, nothing for latter. 

11. Eust and smut, blue-stone for smut. 

12. Eust and spot, no remedy. 

13. Eust and smut, blue-stone. 

14. Scab, rust and Bmut, blue-stone for smut. 

15. Smut, spot and scab, blue-stone for smut. 

16. Smut, rust and fly, use blue-stone to prevent smut. 

17. Eust and emut, blue-stone for smut. 

18. Smut and rust. 

19. Smut and spot, blue-stone or lime for sm-ut^ spot jio If emedy. 

20. Smut, and blue-stone for it ; rust and spot. 
2L Eust, ftnd let her rust. 

22. Spot and rust, smut, "worms, etc., best remedy 5b 'lime sown on land 

liberalh'. 

23. Smut, blue-stone. 

24. Eust end Bmut, "well matured se«d and blue-.stone 'for. latter. 

25. Smut and rust. 

26. Fly, rust, Spot and oose stock. 

27. Eust and emut, earJy sowing and blue-stone. 

28. Eust, drain your land; Smut, early sowing and :blue-^tone. 

29. Smut, »-uKt and epot, blue-stone for smut. 
80. Eust, and no remedy. 

31. Smut, blue-stone. 

32. Eust and smut, sow early for former, blue?ston,e ifordatter. 
83. Eu3t, *mut hnd Kpot, sio remedy known. 

34. Eust, emut, % iand iuilde\v; blue-sloneior smut. 
85. Rust ftnd «pot, DO a-eniedy. 

36. Spot and femut, only once in (ben year-s, and thai y«ar -.soaked my wheat 

in blue-stone. 

37. Eust and 6mlft,'bliie-stoue for Mter.'ltJjrsformer fully ripe se id. 
88. Smut anfl rust, 4)1 ue-stone /or smut. 

39. Rust, no Remedy. Smut, blue-.stLne. 

40. Smut anfl fUSt -sometimes, cloyer i&nd .•grass sutj. 

41. S ill t, rust and spot, felue-stone ior Saaut. 

42. Eust, fimut and spot. 
Ad. P.Uit iand Bmut. 



192 WHEAT CULTURE 

44. Early sowing for fly Sept. 10, in aishes for rust, salt and blue-stone for 

smut. 

45. Eust is our greatest enemy, can only succeed as we can prevent 

smut. 

46. Eust and smut, also fly. For fly sow as late as October. Eust is an 

atmosplieric influence, chloride gas is the remedy ; for smut, sow 
when the ground is very dry. Bine-stone is worth nothing. 

47. Eust, scab, smut, salt, lime and blue-stone. 

48. Eust and spot, blue-stone. 

Are you troubled with insects, to what extent, and what 
is your remedy ? 

1. Grub worm, blue-stone is a preventive. 

2. . 

3. Yes, considerable; none. 

4. Hessian fly and grasshoppers. 

5. Yep, Hessian fly. Eemedy, pasture close with sheep. 

6. Not to any serious extent. 

7. Nothing but Hessian fly and weevil, no remedy. 

8. We have never had much trouble from insects. 

9. Joint worm to limited extent, no remedy tried. 

10. Very little. 

11. Am not. 

12. None, except fly, which only injures early sowed wheat. 

13. So little no remedy is applied. 

14. We are troubled with them. 

15. Fly, joint worm ; no remedy for latter, sow after frost for former. 

16. None. 

17. Early sown wheat subject to fly. 

18. Doubtful. 

19. Hessian fly on early wheat, not on late. • . 

20. Hessian fly in fall at time?, no remedy. 

21. Fleas, and pennyroyal. 

22. So far not troubled. 

23. Hessian fly, sow after frost. 

24. Fly occasionally, on foul land especially. 

25. Blue-stone for smut. 

26. Fly, joint worm and weevil, no remedy. 

27. Fly, sow after frost and you'll escape. 

28. Fly and worm cutting top joint. 

29. Fly if sowed before frost, preventive better than cure. 

30. Fly, no remedy. 

31. To no extent that I know of. 



IN TENNESSEE. 193 

32. No trouble. 

33. No trouble noticeable. 

34. Fly, only insect, an hat only in a dry ■winter. 

35. Hessian fly only insect, no remedy. 

36. Only once in ten years, and then it was grasshoppers. 

37. No. 

38. Fly, and no remedy. 

39. Not much. 

40. I am not. 

41. Fly in fall. 

42. Yes, fly, no remedy. 

43. No trouble. 

44. Never to any extent, 

45. No insects have troubled us. 

46. Fly principally, sow your wheat about the middle of October. 

47. Insects not troublesome ; remedy, good soil well prepai'ed. 

48. Sometimes , no other insect. 

What is the most approved time of sowing? 

1 . September 20 to October 20 ; I've known good wheat up to December 

20 ; early sowing best. 

2. Last of September aad October. 

3. September 20 to October W. 

4. From October 1 to 20. 

5. September. 

6. October 1. 

7. September 20 to October 20. 

8. September 15 to October 15. 

9. September 15 to October 15. 

10. Earlier the better; prefer sowing in September. 

11. October 1 to November 15. 

12. About October 15. 

13. October 1 to 15. 

14. October 1. 

15. September 20 to October 15. 

16. First ten days in October. 

17. September 25 to October 15, to avoid damage from the fly. 

18. October 1 to 15. 

19. September 15 to October 15. 

20. October and November. 

21. October. 

22. September 10 to October 10. 

23. October 1 to November 15. 

24. Early Fall. 

13 



194 WHEAT CULTURE 

25. September 15. 

26. September 15 to 30. 

27. October 1 to 15. 

28. September 15 to October 20. 

29. October 10 to October 25. 

30. October 1 to October 31. 

31. October, but often neglecled ; result, winter killing, 

32. September 15 to Octo'jer 15. 

33. October 1. 

34. September 5 to October 

35. September 

36. September 10 to October 10, never later. 

37. Octitber 1. 

38. October. 

39. Last of September to October 15. 

40. White or Blue-stem, from October 1 to 10. 

41. October 1. 

42. In October. 

43. October, new moon. 

44. Early in Se[)tember as possible, is best. 

45. October 10 to 25 ; often as late as December 10 and 15. 

46. October 1 to November 15. 

47. About the first of October. 

48. September; the full moon. 

Which is the better phm of sowing — drill or broatl-:ast' 

1. Drills are not used in this district. 

2. Drill. 

3. Drill. 

4. Broad-cast; v hen the drill is used, apt to riMt. 

5. Drill, it don't Ireeze so much in winter. 

6. Broadcast is the only mode here. 

7. Have no experience with drill. 

8. By drill. 

9. Drill decidedly. 

10. I am satisfied by drill is preferable. 

11. Drill. 

12. Drill. 
li. Drill. 

14. Broadcast; have not used drill. 

15. Broadcast. 

16. Drill, emphatically. 

17. About same if ground is prepared well.^ 

18. Drill. 



IN TENNESSEE, 195 

1^. Broadcast, and seed plowed in. 

20. Broadcast ; don't use drill. 

21. Drill. 

22. Drill, unqualifiedly. 

23. Drill. 

24. Drill. 

25. Broadcast. 

26. Have not used the drill ; little difference. 

27. Drill, if land permits. 

28. Broadcast. 

29. Broadcast, if as well prepared as for drilU 

30. Drill, 

31. Broadcast , have not used drill. 

32. Drill, if possible. 

33. Broadcast exclusively ; think, however, drill is the best. 

34. Drill, when ground i-f in condition. 

35. Broadcast; drill not practiced ; best farmers favor drill. 

36. By drill the yield is a quarter more than broadcast. 

37. Broadcast is preferred. 

38. Drill preferred. 

39. Drill. 

40» D )n't know the drill, but heir it well spoken of. 

41. No drill used in this county. 

42. Drill preferable. 

43. Broadcast. 

44. Drill all the time. 

45. Broadcast; many favor drill. 

46. Broadcast, and harrow both ways. 

47. Drill always. 

48. By drill. 

What amount of seed is used in sowing by either plan? 

1. From 1 to 1\ bushels. 

2. Drill, 3 pecks to 1 bushel ; broadcast, 1 to IJ- bu.shels. 

3. One to 1.^. 

4. One bu'ihel to the acre. 

5. About 1 bushel per acre. 

6. One bushel per acre. 

7. Broadcast 1 to IJ bushel per acre. 

8. From | to IJ bushels per acre. 

9. Drill f bushels, broadcast 1|. 

10. Drill 2 to 1, 1 burtliel broadcast. 

11. Drill I to 1 bushel, broadcast 1 to Iv bu-shels per acre. 

12. Bro-idcast from 1 to I| bushels, drill | to 1 bushel. 

13. Three-fourth to 1 busheK 



296 WHEAT CULTURE 

14. One busbel per acre. 

15. Three-fourths to 2 bushels. 

16. Drill I, 5-4 to 6-4 broadcast. 

17. Frora f to I, generally 1 bushel. 

18. One bushel. 

19. One and a half bushels. 

20. One i)ushel broadcaat. 

21. Drilled f, broadcast 1 bnslieh 

22. Drilled f, broadcast 5-4 bushels 

23. I to 1 bushel per acre. 

24. Three-fourths to 5-4 bushels. 

25. One bushel, 

26. One bushel. 

27. From | to 1 bushel. 

28. Broadcast 1 bushel. 

29. One to 2 bushels according to soil. 

30. One bushel and a peck generally. 

31. If sowed in time 1 bushel, if late more, 

32. From f to 1 bushel. 

33. One bushel per acre. 

34. Broadcast, I4; drill 1 bushel. 

35. From 1 to IJ bnshels, 

36. One bushel sound seed. 

37. Broadcast 1 bushel, drill f. 

38. Broadcast 1 bushel, drill a little less. 

39. Drill ^ to 1, broadcast 1 to IJ. 

40. One to 1|^ bushels per acre. 

41. One bushel per acre. 

42. One bushel per acre. 

43. One bu.'hel. 

44. Drill I-, broadcast 1}. 

45. Am not prepared to say with drill ; broadcast 4 to 1 busIieL 

46. From f to 1 bushel, according to size of grain. 

47. Drill I, broadcast 1 to IJ. 

48. One bushel to the acre. 

What is your estimate of the cost of cultivating an acre 
by either plan? [The answers only estimate the work done 
in seeding.] 

1. From .75 to $1,25. 

2. $3.00 

3. About $1.00. 

4. $3.00 per aci®. 



IN TENNESSEE. 197 

5. $5.50. 

6. Have not tested- 

7. $6.50. 

8. $4.50 to 5.00. 

9. From $7.00 to $12'00 — drill pomewhat cheaper. — Estimate is made on 

best preparation of .«oil. 

10. $4.00 for thorough cultivation by broadcast, $5.00 by drill. 

11. About $3.00 per acre by either plan. 

12. $3.75 by drill, broadcast .75 cents less. 

13. Broadcast $3.00, drill $5.00. 

14. $4.00- 

15. About $6.00. 

16. $3.00 per acre drill ; don't sow broadcast. 

17. From $5.00 to $6.00 if well prepared, as it should be for botL 

18. $5.00 with seed and saving crop. 

19. $6.00. 

20. $2.00, 

21. $10.00. 

22. $5.75. 

23. $1.50. 

24. $3.00. 

25. $6.75. 

26. $6.00 broadcast. 

27. Without seed or harvesting $3.00, 

28. $3.50 ready for granary. 

29. Broadcast $3.00. 

30. $1.50 drilled, .75 cents to $1.00 broadcast. 

31. $5.00 will put it in well and save it 

32. Cannot answer. 

33. $6.00 in granary. 

34. $2.50 broadcast, plowing, rolling and harrowing; never use a drill. 

35. $4.00 inclusive of seed. 
S6. $3.50. 

37. $4.00, sowing and hauling included. 

38. Don't know. 

39. $7.50 with seed. 

40. $3.00 per acre. 

41. $5.00. 

42. $2.00 per acre, 
43. 

44. $7.00. 

45. $2.00 to $6.00, 

46. Seventy-five cents to bushel gathered- 

47. $1.00 for buU-tougning as usual— §6.00 to $7.00 if done well. 

48. I haven't studied much about it 



198 WHEAT CULTUEE 

What is the estimated profit of wheat culture per aere? 

1. From $3 to C per acre clear profit. 

2. About $3 to ^ per acre, if yield is 10 bushels and pric? $1 per bushel. 

3. ;Mone. 

4. When wheat is $1 per bushel the profit is $6 per acre. 

5. On an average $2 per acre^ 
G. 

7. My average is $2.65. 

8. Very small, from $3 to $25 ; average about $5 ; depends on prepara- 

tion of land. 

9. For an average of ten years, profit $10 with best farmers ; for others 

$2 to-$3. 

10. $12.50. 

11. $10 per acre. 

12. That depends on amount made per acre 

13. Can't guess at it. 

14. Depends on price ; one dollar per bushel is $1.50 profit. 

15. Difficult to answer, on account of fluctuating price and varying yield, 

16. Owing to variations in yield and price, hard to estimate. 

17. From nothing ta fifteen dollars. 
18. 

19. J^o profit below an average of six bushels, and price one dollar. 

20. $2.50 to $3. 

21. Nothing. 

22. From nothing to $10 or $15 per acre. 

23. $5. 

24. $5, at ten bu-ht s per acre. 

25. Simply a change of land from corn. 

26. Very little. 

27. $12. 

28. $3.50 to $22.50. 

29. $4.50. 

30. $5 to $7. 

31. Have kept no record and am not prepared to say. 
32. 

33. About $5 per acre when raised for profit. 

34. I'm not prepared to say, average is so irregular. 

35. From $3 to $5 per acre. 

36. Average yield 8 bushels, $8. Deduct expenses, leaves $4.40. 

37. About $6. 

38. About 100 per cent. 

39. $5 or $6. 

40. Depends on price of wheat at time of sale^ 

41. Very small in this county,. 



IN TENNESSEE. 199 

42. On first-class ground, $20 per acre. 
43. 

44. $7 atfl per bushel. 

45. Act'ial profit $5; advantage to land immense. Wheat, grass ard 

clover only hope of West Tennesfsee. 

46. Very small. 

47. By the latter it shonld average $10 per acre ; by the former it is 

money out of pocket. 

48. Sometimes very little, $8, $10, $12 to $18 and to $20 per acre. 

What is the relative profit of wheat culture as comj)ared 
with other crops? 

1. Oats, corn and wheat; last mos-t profitable. 

2. About same as corn, less than hay, and far less than potatoes. 

3. Wheat and oats, but liltle profit. 

4. Wheat most valuable crop we make. 

5. Pays as well as corn and better than oats. 

6. Equal with other grain crops. 

7. Equal to corn, better than oats or rye, tobacco more profitable. 

8. AVheat poorest crop for profit. 

9. Wheat best on upland ; on bottoms corn is best. 

10. Best money crop, 33,^^ per cent more than any other. 

11. ISO profit in corn at present prices. 

12. Wheat most profitable grain crop raised. 

13. I think wheat is a small per cen over others. 

14. About same as cotton and corn, profit light on all. 
15. 

16. Wheat is first on land suitable to wheat-growing. 

17. Same as other crops. 
18. 

19. 

20. Much less than corn. 

21. Other crops pay better. 

22. Better than corn or spring oats on upland, lees t'.ian cotton, tobacco or 

winter oats. 

23. As paying as any grown. 
24. 

25. 

26. Corn more valuable if fed on farm. 

27. Wheat and barley are best for field crops. 

28. Wheal $3.50, corn |6, cotton $9. 

29. Not as good as grass, 25 per cent, better than corn. 

30. Fifty to 75 per cent better- 

31. Cannot say ; raise only for home use. 



200 WHEAT CULTURE 



33. About equal when properly cullivated. 

34. Wheat is the most profitable croj} in ray county. 

35. Wheat produces more profit than other crops. 

36. As a general thing corn pays better than wheat. 

37. Wheat is most profitable, 

38. About 50 per cent, better than any other crop. 

39. Wheat at 100, other crops at 75. 

40. I can make more money on grass than on any grain. 

41. Lps^ than any other grain. 

42. Wheat is 40 per cent, over all others. 

43. About equal. 

44. Profits of wheat very little, corn ditto. 

45. Profits greater than other crops on lands manured. 

46. Hardly as good as corn or oats, if latter is a good crop. 

47. It does not jiay as well as any other crop. 

48. Very good in some places in the county. 

Give me your estimate of amouut of wheat raised in your 
county and number of acres sown. 

1. Cannot say — pretty large I think. 

2. Have no idea. 



4. I do not know. My crop is 100 acres and will make 1,200 bushels. 

5. Twenty-five thousand bushels, number of acres sown 4,000. 

6. Have no statistics. 

7. Have no means of even guessing. 

8. One hundred and fifty thousand bushels,'19,000 acres. 

9. Can give no intelligent answer. 

10. It is guess work— 300,000 bushels, 30,000 acres sown. 
11. 

12. Nine thousand acres and 54,000 bushels. 

13. Have no means at command for determining. 

14. About 200,000 bushels on 33,000 acres. 

15. 

IG. Cannot give an estimate. 

17. Thirty-five thousand two hundred and thirty-eight bushels 5,034 acre 

sown. 

18. 

19. (Jne hundred and twenty thousand bushels, 20,000 acres. 

20. Twelve thousand six hundred bushels, 1,800 acres. 

21. A?k the tax assessor. 

22. Have no data to answer. 

23. Eighty thousand bushels, 10,000 acres. 



IN TENNESSEE. 201 

24. Thirty-five to forty thousand bushels, 3,000 to 4,000 acres. 

25. Twenty per cent, of cultivated land sown in wheat. 

26. No means of answering. 

27. Two hundred and fifty thousand bushels on 30,000 acres. 

28. Have not estimated the county ; 8,000 bushels in this district. 

29. Average crop 75,000 bushels. 

30. Seven thousand acres, 56,000 bushels. 

31. I can only say more than usual sown and yield over average. 

32. Am not well enough posted to answer. 

33. One hundred thousand bushels, 15,000 acres. 

35. Can't give an estimate. 

36. It is impossible to say, guess 33,000 bushels. 

37. Don't know. 
38. 

39. Can't approximate. 

40. One hundred and twenty thousand bushels, 14,000 acres. 

41. Ten thousand bushels, 1,500 acres. 

42. Twenty-thousand bushels, 3,500 acres. 

43. Twenty-five thousand busheis. 

44. Five thousand acres and 100,000 bushels. 

45. Am not prepared to answer ; amount planted double any year previous 

except 1875. 

46. Have no iflea, but this county is about the best in East Tennessee. 

47. Not prepared at present to do this. 

48. I can't say, for I don't know what amount has been sown. 

Is the acreage of wheat increasing or decreasing? 

1. Average probably good this year. 

2. Increasing. 

3. Increasing. 

4. Increasing, 

5. Increasing. 

6. Small increase. 

7. I think increasing. 

8. Not much change, if any an increase. 

9. Increasing. 

10. Increasing — 25 per cent more than any prior year. 

11. Increasing largely. 

12. Can see no increase or decrease. 

13. Inci'easing I think. 

14. Increasing. 

15. Less this year on acccount of drought last fall. 

16. Increasing. 



202 WHEAT CULTUEE 

37. Increasing as a rule. 

18. Increasing. 

19. Decreasing. 

20. Little difference, perliaps on the increase. 

21. Increasing, 

22. Increasing, 

23. Increasing. 

24. Increa?ing. 

25. Increasing I think. 

26. Less this year, generally much the same. 

27. Increasing. 

28. Increasing 20 per cent. 

29. Increasing. 

30. Increasing. 

31. Increasing certainly. 

32. Increasing. 

33. Increasing slowly. 

34. Increasing. 

35. Increa'^ing. 

36. About the same as formerly. 

37. Rapidly increasing. 

38. Increasing. 

39. Increasing 25 per cent. 

40. Decreasing. 

41. Decreasing if any change. 

42. Increasing. 

43. Increasing. 

44. Increasing as rapidly as the quantity is diminishing. 

45. Very largely increasing. 

46. Rather increasing. 

47. Increasing. 

48. I think decreasiag. 

Wliat kinds of fertilizers are used for wlieat ? 

1. Scarcely any ; stable manure if any. 

2. Clover and stable manure. 

3. None except from the stable. 

4. Clover. 

5. Clover and barnyard manure. 

6. None. 

7. Barnyard, lime and commercial manures in small quantities. 

8. Very little of any kind ; stable manure in small quantities. 

9. Stable manure principally; phosphate and guano slightly and did well. 
10. Not one in a thousand u.ses any. 



IN TENNESSEE. 203 

11. I have never seen any used in this county. 

12. None except a small amount of barnyard. 

13. None. 

14. Small quantity of stahle manure and pea vine. 
1^. Stable manure and not enough. 

16. Very little ; stable manure and guano are excellent. 

17. Stable manure and ashes. 

18. None but clover and peas. 

19. Stable manure. 

20. None, 

21. None, 

22. Horse and cow manure, few use guano. 

23. Plaster and salt to limited extent. 

24. None worthy of notice. 

25. None. 

26. Little stable manure and no other. 

27. Ashes and plaster to a small extent only. 

28. Cotton seed and lime compost. 

29. Stable and barnyard. 

.')0. Lime and plaster of Paris 

31. Little of any sort ; many of us have heard that manure is good for 

wheat. 

32. None of consequence. 

33. Farm manures. 

34. Barnyard, ashes, etc. 

35. Barnyard and ashes — no fertilizers bought. 

36. None used but stable mature and clover. 

37. Cotton seed, lime and ashes. 

38. Barnyard. 

39. Stable manure used by some, 

40. No fertilizers, some niftnure from st.ck. 

41. None u^ed, 

42. Barnyard compost. 
43. 

44. Stable manure and compost. 

45. Barnyard and cotton seed. 

46. Clover and stable manure. 

47. Next to none — barnyard lightly. 

48. No kind. 

What use is made of wheat straw, and what is its esti- 
mated value per acre? 

1. Scattered on poor land or destroyed. 

2. Bedding for horses and spreading on ground. 



204 WHEAT CULTURE 

3. Fed to cattle, 

4. Straw is a good manure for wheat land. 

5. Fed to cattle ; value per acre .75 cents. 

6. Left to rot where threshed. 

7. Winter forage for mules and cattle ; value per acre $1.00. 

8. Fed to cattle and thrown on farm ; value very small. 

9. Fed to cattle; value $2.00. 

10. Most leave it loose, some pen it for cattle. 

11. Making paper and packing eggs ; value $4.00 per acre if properly 

slacked. 

12. Generally spread on poor spots to rot. 

13. Manure, no value. 

14. Scattered on ground to rot ; value .50 cents per acre. 

15. Fed to cattle and bedding stock ; good land i$2.00, upland 30 cents. 

16. Left to rot. 

17. Cattle feed ; $1.00 per acre. 

18. Nearly valueless. 

19. Left to rot ; chief value cattle bedding. 

20. Cattle feed ; value low, 

21. Cow beds; $2.00. 

22. Cut and mix with bran for horses and cattle, also bedding for stock ; 

$2.00. 

.23. Cattle food ; $1.00. 

24. Left to rot. 

25. Cattle food ; $2.00. 

26. Cattle lood ; manner of feeding constitutes its value. 

27. Fed to cattle — generally wasted ; worth $2.50. 

28. Scattered and plowed in ; $2.00. 

29. Fed to cattle in barnyard ; worth $1.00. 

30. Feed to stock and cattle ; 0.75. 

31. Seldom any care taken of it. 

32. Manure heip. 

33. Fed to cattle; value .75 cents per acre, 

34. Stock feed and manure. 

35. Don't value it, wasted by cattle. 

36. Left to rot. 

37. Fine feed for out-stock; $1.00 if stacked. 

38. Cattle feed. 

39. I would rutlier have it as feed than millet. 

40. Fed in a wasteful way to stock ; $1.00 per acre. 

41. Left on the ground for cattle, 

42. Fed to cattle and mules; $1.00. 

43. Stacked and fed. 

44. Feed stock ; $1.00 per 2,000 IKs. at stack. 

45. No profit as feed, but good for bedding for stock and to stop gullies. 



IN TENNESSEE. 205 

46. Put under carpets, make straw beds, feed to poor ccws, horses and mules. 

47. Left to rot or wasted at stack. 

48. Cut it up and feed it to stock ; very valueless. 

What use is made of the chaff, and what is its relative 
vahie as a feed. 

1. No care is taken of it, generally thrown with the straw. 

2. But little used as feed. 

3. Feed for cattle and horses. 

4. As a feed it is worth nothing, but it is good for manure. 
6. Fed to cattle ; better than straw. 

6. Leit to rot. 

7. Same as straw ; no great value. 

8. Used for feeding cattle, and better tlian straw, 

9. Fed with straw ; better than straw. 

10. It is very fair feed, beats straw badly. 

11. Am unable to say any use is made of it ; good food for horses and cattle. 

12. Same as straw. 

13. No use made. 

14. Left lo rot. 

15. Smooth wheat chaff good for stock ; bearded not. 

16. U.se as cattle food, worth half as much as bay. 

17. Mix meal or bran for cows, good feed. 

18. Nearly valueless. 

19. One-third of clover hay. 

20. Chafi' uncared for. 

21. Rick it, and cattle will eat it. 

22. Use like straw, worth 50 cents to $1. 

23. Cattle food, better than straw. 

24. Very little attention paid to it; a few pen it for cattle [o eat at pleasure- 

25. Allowed to waste ; splendid for calves. 

26. Bearded chaS worthless. 

27. Not separated from straw. 

28. Scattered for manure. 

29. Fed as straw ; not much value. 

30. Same as straw. 

31. Goes generally with straw. 

32. Goes with straw. 

33. Better than straw ; no attention given it. 

34. Same use as sti-aw ; better for packing eggs, etc. 

35. Mixed with meal and fed to cattle, considered good. 

36. Left to rot with straw ; mixed with meal makes good feed. 

37. Excellent feed. 

38. Feeding cattle. 

. t 



206 WHEAT CULTURE 

39. I will say it is preferable for cattle to straw. 

40. Fed to stock. 

41. Fed to cattle ; small value. 

42. Fed to milch cows ; 50 cents per acre. 

43. None. 

44. Better than straw for feed. 

45. Fed to horses, and mixed witli bran to milch cows. 

46. Mixed with hot water and fed to milch cows ; good for that use. 

47. Same as str;w; don't know. 

48. Chaflf is fed to stock. 

"What is your estimate of the value of harrowing or roll- 
ing wheat in the spring ? 

1. Spring harrowing is good, but rolling in spring is scarcely ever done. 

2. One-tenth increase. 

3. It will p:iy well. 

4. Is of no worih. 

5. Don't know; havn't tried it. 

6. Both beneficial. 

7. I regard it as beneficial. 

8. From 20 to 50 per cent. 

9. Like harrowing, but dont approve of rolling. 

10. Adds ten per cent to yield. 

11. Broadcast v* heat is benefited ; drill not so much. 

12. No experience. 

13. No answer. 

14. Increased yield one bushel per acre. 

15. Have no tests though I pursue it. 

16. Harrowing useful preceding clover, rolling injurious. 

17. Harrowing an advantage, if wheat is not too rank ; rolling good in 

light soils. 

18. Beneficial. 

19. Rolling, one to ten dollars per acre ; harrowing uncertain. 

20. No experience. 

21. Harrowing worth 2 bu.-^hels per acre. 

22. Rolling varies from one-half to 3 bushels per acre. 

23. Adds ten per cent, to value of wheat. 

24. Advaritnge, bnt seldom done in this section. 

25. Governed by crop and kind of land. 

26. Increased yield from 1 to 2 bushels per acre. 

27. Harrowidg and rolling always good, according to close or loose soil. 

28. No experience. 

29. Harn'Ming is good ; have not tried rolling. 

30. Rolling valuable, harrowing injurious. 



IN TENNESSEE. 207 

31. Cannot say from experience ; both good, however. 

32. Harrowing cood ; have tried it. 

33. Never tried it, but think both good. 

34. Pays best, hard dry winter. 

35. Not practiced here. 

36. SometimesoDeisl)etter, somet'me.^ the otlier ; harrowing for soft, the 

other for hard land. 

37. Injures if ground is in condition. 

38. Ten to 15 per cent. 

39. High estimate on both ; rolling best. 

40. I am told it is a benefit. 

41. I have no experience in either. 

42. Twenty-five per cent, for rolling. 

43. Owing to I 

44. Improved the crop a tenth. 

45. Have never tried only oh small scale. drilled and plowed vviih bull- 

tongue and hoed it. Yield was enormous. 

46. Prefer the hariow. 

47. Ten per cent in favor of both. 

48. Either way is good. 

What stage of ripeuing is most favorable for harvesting? 

1. Kather in green state, the flour is better. 

2. Full i-ipe for seed, r.pe for flour. 

3. Let it get ripe. 

4. Good ripe. 

5. For flour dough state, for seed fully ripe. 

6. Soon as grain pisses from dough state, straw changes color. 

7. I prefer to cut before it is considered ripe. 

8. For all purposes except for seed just ripe, for seed very ripe. 

9. Just so ripe no waste occurs by shelling. 

10. Just as the grain leaves dough state. 

11. When it is in a hard d(jugh state. 

12. Don't see any difference from stifl dough to dead rip?. 

13. When ju-t bard enough not to shatter. 

14. When straw is bright yellow, before grain is fully hard. 

15. Just before tlioruughly ripe. 

16. Ripe, but before straw gets dry. 

17. Just as wheat is getting out of the dou^h state. 

IS. A liit.e under ripe ' 

19. About five days before fully ripe. 

20. Fully ripe. 

21. Dough state. 



208 WHEAT CULTUEE 

22. When straw first readies a clear yellow. 

23. Jitet before heads turn or full ripe. 

24. Fully ripe. 

25. For good bread, soon after passing from bread to dongh. 

26. Stiff dough. 

27. Eipe. 

28. As it goes out the dough state. 

29. Eipe. Cutting green seed makes smut also sowing in wet land. 

30. Well matured, grain, liard. 

31. Cut early, farmers prefer ripe. 

32. Eipe so it won't shatter. 

33. Good ripe without rust, pretty green with it. 

34. Very soon after stiff dough stage. 

35. Dough stage best for flour, but should be ripe for seed. 

36. Medium hard berry and nice yellow straw. 

37. When the head begins to turn down. 

38. A little beyond stiff dough. 

39. When the grain is hard enough to cru?h between the teeth. 

40. Head and straw yellow, grain a little out of the dough. 

41. Stiff dough. 

42. In good dough. 

43. When the grain is fully malurcd. 

44. In dough state. 

45. Stiff' dough state. 

46. Early. 

47. For flour dough state, seed thoroughly ripe. 

48. Cradling and Maying. 

What kind of wheat yields the best flour ? 

1. Whitp. 

2. White and Amber. 

3. Boughlon. 

4. Litile Eed May wheat. 

6. Tappahannock. 

6; Boughton as White, and Walker as Amber varieties. 

7. White, best flour. 

8. Boughton or Golden-straw generally preferred, but Walker is best. 

9. Boughton. 

10. White flour preferred, I like a golden tinge to it. ' 

11. Fuliz, as I am told. 

12. White makes UK.st, don't know about best. 

13. White or Tappahannock. 

14. Eed-chaff. 

15. Lancaster Eed. 



IN TEN^NESSEE. 209 

16. White wheat. 

17. White, Tubman and Boughton. 

18. As a practical miller, let Avheat be good, that is the question. 

19. Fuhz. 

20. White. 

21. Sound wheat. 

22. White wheat richest, W.tlker whitest. 

23. Tappahannock. 

24. Walker. 

25. Bonghlon ; depends en mill and time grinding. ' 

2G. Wliite fairest, Mediterranean preferred by farmers for home use. 

27. Amber. 

28. Tappahannock. 

29. Tappuhaunock. 

30. Walker. 

31. Cannot say. 

32. Eed-chaff— wonld like to know its name. [Name correct; see list of 

wheats, — Ed.] 
•33. Wliite. 

34. Boughton and Walker when well matured. 

35. Boughton. 

36. Kougnton wheat is superior to any wheat, and makes the best Hour. 

37. White Boughton. 

38. Millers differ. 

39. Bougtiton, Walker, Red, Purple-stem and Mediterranean, 

40. White or Blue-stem. 

41. White. 

42. Wliite. 

43. Walker and Boughton. 

44. Fultz and Golden-straw. 

45. Amber, Ked Mmj and Wliite, a new kind. 

46. Amber best qualitj'. 

47. Boughton and other white wheats. 

48. White. 

Is it customary to pasture wheat, and to what time ? 

1. It should not be pastured unless very thick, and then not later than 

January 25 or first of February. 

2. Some pasture until March 15; others do not, 
o. Yes, until middle of March or first of April. 

4. It is from February to March. 

5. Yes, to March 1. 

fi. Partially, until February 1, 

7. Only when very forward, say from February to April 1. 

14 



210 WHEAT CULTUEE 

8. No ; yet it is done by our best farmers some'imes for benefit of stock, 

9. To a limited extent, not so much as formerly, until March 1. 

10. Yes, to Marcli 1 or 1st April. 

11. Yes, to Marcli 1. 

12. So ue good farmers pasture, some do not. Take off April 1. 

13. No. 

14. By some on early to March 1. 

15. I pastiire Lancaster red to Ai>ril 10. 

10. Not a general custom; sometimes when too forward ; not after April 1, 

17. Often done, but doubt the custom. 

18. If ground dry, yes, until April 1. 
It). To some extent until March 10. 

20. Pasture until March 1. 

21. Yes, till Apr! 1. 

22. 1 think it bad policy; stock eat.^s sm;ill, and leaves large and manured 

spots untonched. 
■_'3. Not customary. 

-1. Some pasture till April 1, some don't pasture. 
"i5. By some it is ; do not approve, only to check growth in spring. 
"JG. Yes, seme to late in March. 
117. Some do, but the practice is waning. 
.'28. It ia not cnsioniary, some do until March 1. 
29. I pasture until March 1. 
JO. Not customary. 

:>1. A good many pasture wheat, some until late in March. 
:j2. When sowed early may be paststred until April, 
;]3. Not v/hen raised for profit. 
o4. Sometimes in a dry, warm fall, until freezes. 
:>5. It is only practiced when wheat is very forward, to prevent damage 

from frost. 
o6. 1 never pa.sture under any conflideration ; I think it injures it. 
o7. If forward and ground dry, may pasture until first of April. 

38. Not customary. 

39. From November 27 to March 27. 
40. 1 do not, but some do. 

41. From December 1 to March 15. 

42. Yes, in dry winter, until the first of March. 

43. Until March 1 to 15. 

44. It is, and a !)ad, ruinous custom it i>', too. 

45. Some do, generally to February and March. 

46. Some do, some do not. I think pasturing predisposes tu cheat, 

47. It ia, to March 1 usually. 

48. Some pasture it in th; winter. 



IN TENNESSEE. 211 

Does pasturing wheat injure or benefit it? 

1. I believe it is rather an injury. 

2. Benefits if early, injures it if late. 

3. Owing to circumstances. 

4. Sheep or calves benefit it. 

5. If not too close or too late it benefits. 

6. If wheat is early and rank, and ground loose and dry, it is good ; if wet 

not. 

7. Very early is saved by it from frosts, otherwise injurious. 

8. Rank or early it helps; if late it is injurious. 

9. Nine times out of ten it is injurious. 

10. Very early sown may be benefited ; it is a mooted question. 

11. Injures it at any time. 

12. In proper manner and time it is good; if not it injures. 

13. Injures. 

li. Early is benefited, late ia injured. 

15. On good land benefits Lancaster Ked, a strong grower. 

16. Variable. 

17. As a rule it is not benefited, but often injured. 
IS. If lorward beneficial, otherwise not. 

19. Sheep benefit t. 

20. I think ii injures it. 

21. It helps the cows. 

22. Can only benefit by packing earth, and rolling does it better. 

23. Owing to circumstances; if too early, beneficial. 

24. It is probably an advantage to pasture early wheat lightly. 

25. Injures, as a general thing. 

26. No, unles=! pastured until after March 1. 

27. It injures beyond question. 

28. I think it injbres, causing cheat, smut, and making it late. 

29. If rank pasture, if not do not; don't pasture when wet. 

30. Very ruinous. 

3". Sowed early is probably benefited by pasturing, 

32. Many old farmers think it benefited if stock is kept ofi" when ground is 

wet. 

33. Injures and eauses more or less cheat. 

34. No benefit unles-s to keep out the fly. 

35. I think it does not benefit it only to protect from, frost. 

36. In my experience it damages it. 

37. Il dry, no; if Avet, yes. 

38. Consider it an injury. 

39. I think not. 

40. Consider it injurious, but there is a difference of opinion. 

41. I cannot think it a benefit. 



212 WHEAT CULTURE 

42. It is an adrantnge (o cattle and horses. 

43. It is a great benefit. 

44. Injures wheat and land. 

45. I think it benefits new land if rightly done, but old it makss too 

hard. 

46. I flunk jt predisposes to cheat. 

47. We think it injures on close land and benefits on loose. 

48. 1 don't think pasturing any way can help it much at all. 

Is blue-stone a positive preventive of rust (smut) ? [This 
question was improperly presented. The question should 
have been does it prevent smut.] 

1. It is good, but I think not a positive preventive. 

2. No ; I think it prevents smut. 

3. Don't know. 

4. No ; it is of smut. 

5. It is of smut. 

6. No, but is of smut, so is salt. 

7. Never heard of it except for smut. 

8. Think not, but is for smut. 

9. No, but is for smut. 

10. Don't think so, but is of smut. Warm njoist weather produces rust— »• 

don't follow hard freezes only on late sowing. 

11. It is of smut. 

12. Suppose you mean smut — it is if properly done. 

13. Is not for rust but is for smut. 

14. I think not, but is for smut. 

15. Don't know if positive. 

16. Don't affect rust; sure preventive of smut. 

17. Wheat is not injured by smut if soaked in bluestone. 

18. Yes, for smnt. 

19. It is considered so though have not tried it. 

20. Does for smut —not rust. 

21. Yes — smut. 

22. Bluestone for smut only. 

23. It is for smut. 

24. Not for rust but smut. 

25. It is for smut, not for rust — rain produces rusf. 

26. Never used it. .'' 

27. Smut yes, rust no. 

28. I think it is, sown in due time, otherwise not. 

29. No, it is caused by hot wet weather, but is for smat/ '. 

30. Not for rust but smut. 



IN TENNESSEE. 213 

31. Not r;;sl but smut. 

32. It has proved so with me. 

33. To a limited extent only. 

34. It is for smut but not of rust. 

35. It is not thoaght to be a preventive of rust. 

36. Ten years since I soaked in blue?tone and had smut, haven't tried it 

since and have had none. 

37. It is for smut but not for rust. 

38. I think not, but is for suiut. 

39. Don't affect rust but prevents smut positively. 

40. Don't know — never used it. 

41. I think not. 

42. No sir, it is not. 

43. I think not. 

44. No sir-re€ 

45. It it positively no humbug. 

46. I think not. 

47. Can't tell. 

48. I think hit is good. 

What amount of bluestone do you use, and how long do 
you soak It? 

1. I don't think yoM can use too mucli ; one to two days' soaking. 

2. Make a strong solution and soak all night. 

3. None. 

4. For smut, 2 lbs. for 12 bushels, soak 12 hours. 

5. One pound to !i bushels, soak 15 bours. 

6. One pound to 10 bushels; 12 to 24 hours. 

7. One pound to 8 bushels, sprinkle until all the heap is wet. 

8. One pound to 5 bushels ; 12 to 24 hours. 

9. One pound to 5 or 6 bushels dissolved and sprinkled on wheat. 

10. I make it strong and soak 24 hours. 

11. One-fourth pound to a bushel ; 12 hours. 

12. Don't know exict proportions ; 12 hours. 

13. One pound to 10 bushels; 10 to 12 hours. 

14. Two ounces to a bushel ; 24 hours, 
15. 

16. One pound in 5 quarts of water, sprhikle and sow. 

17. Dissolve enough to make the water blueish and soak one or two hours. 

18. One pound to 5 bushels; 12 hours. 

19. One pound to 10 bushels ; soak 2 or 3 hours. 

20. One pound to 10 bushels ; 12 hours. 
21, 

21. I smut my wheat and don't use bluestone. 



214 WHEAT CULTURE 

23. One ounce to a bushel ; 24 hours. 

24. One pound to 10 bushels ; 12 hours. 

25. One-fourth pound to bushel ; 12 hours. 
26. . 

27. So the; wheat is saturated with a strong solution. 
38. One pound to bushel ; 1 2 hours. 

29. Four ounces to bushel first soaking, then add two ounces to bushel and 

soak again. 

30. One-half ounce to bushel ; 24 to 36 hours. 

31. Any amo4xnt; 12 to 14 hours. 

32. Twelve hours with blue water. 

33. Never tried it much. 

34. Three pounds to 10 bushels. 

35. Blues one is only used to prevent smut. 

36. I do not use it under any consideration. 

37. One pound to 5 or 6 bushels ; 24 hours. 

38. One pound to 8 or 10 bushels; 36 to 48 hours. 

39. Three ounces to bushels ; sprinkle the heap until wet. 

40. Use none, but it is soaked a night. 

41. One pound to 7 bushels ; 24 hours. 

42. One pound to 10 bui^hels ; 12 hours. 

43. We've quit the u?e of bluestone. 

44. Two pounds to gallon of water; 10 hours. 

45. One pound to 10 bushels; 6 to 12 hour^, 

46. Never use it ; I rarely have rust or smut. 

47. One pound to 5 bushels ; 24 hours. 

48. Two ounces to the bushel. 

Which is the best plan of harvesting — cradles or reap- 
ers — and which the cheapest ? 

1. My opinion is, there is not much difference. Reaper's work is the best 

miethod for saving. 

2. Reapers, reapei s. 

3. Cradles. 

4. C. a dies. 

5. Reaper, if land is smootli ; not much difference in cost. 

6. Reapers for large crops and lands smooth ; otherwise cradle. 

7. Rtapers decidedly, they cut so clean. 

8. Reapers best and cheapest. 

9. On heavy or tangled grain reapers best and cheapest; on light, cradle.si. 

10. R?a{)ers by far ; cuts cleaner and saves enough to pay for reaper on 

a hundred acres. 

11. Reapers cheaper, saves grain better. 

12. Reapers. 



IN TENNESSEE. ' 215 

13. Reapers. 

14. Reapers, if prepared well, if not, cradles. 

15. Reaiers save cleanest, but cradles cheaper. 

16. IJKe reapers vhen you can, cradles when you have to. 

17. Where land is rough, cradle; when smooth, reapers. 

18. Reapers, reapers. 

19. Reapers when crop is good, cradles best and cheapest for poor crop. 

20. Cradles, owing to crmdition of our land. 

21. Cradles cheapest, reafaers best. 

22. Reapers best yfhen it can be used. Rake will save 2 bushels more 

than cradles. 

23. Reapers, reapers. 

24. Reapers better and cheaper- 

25. Reaper best and cheapest when it can be used. 

26. Light wheat, cradles ; reapers in heavy wheat. 

27. Reapers. 

28. Use both ; cradles for poor, and reapers for rich land. 

29. When labor is cheap cradles are cheapest. 

030. Cradles, from the roughne^ of the country. 

31. Reapers doing cleanest work, but cradles cheapest. 

52. Reapers cheaper. 

53. Reapers save the best but cradles nev<er break down as badly. 

34. Reaping, where ground will admit, is cheapest. 

35. On smooth land where the reaper can be used it is the cheapest, ott 

rough and steep land the cradle is prefei'red. 

36. Good crad'.ers and good sharp cradles are the cheapest. I liave a 

good drop-reaper and have thrown it aside^ 

37. Reapers all the time. 

38. Cradles suit our country best, 

39. Reapers are best and cheapest. 

40. Reapers. 

41. I tliink cradles best and cheapest. 

42. Reapers best and cheapest. 

43. We use the reaper very little. 

44. Reapers, reapers. 

45. R'. apers in old land, cradles in new, 

46. Very liule difference. 

47. Reaperis — costs about the same. 

48. Cradles are cheapest for small grain. 

Please give your experience in raising wheat. 

1. On fallow lanil, shallow plowing I prefer, unless done very early, then 
deep plowing. Af er this crop, plow and harrow. Will never sow 
without a good season. I prefer to sow on the full moon, never on 



216 WHEAT CULTURE 

the light if I can ayoid it. IMy opinion is the straw will be shorter 
and grain heavier. 

2. Raising wheat is rather a matter of necessity witli me. The clear pro- 
fit, as a rule, is but little for land, sonielimes does well for pasture. 
Clover with wheat does well. A farmer should raise all he con- 
sumes on the farm, if the crop pays but little for labor and rent. 

3. 1 have raised 15 bushels to the acre. We will have to use fertilizers or 
quit sowing wheat. When are you going to visit Sullivan county ? 
We need Stirling up. 

4. I prefer raising wheat to any o;her crop. According to our present 
system of labor it pays best. I prefer sowing clover or oat land. 
Smut is our greatest trouble, and I prevent this by the use of blue- 
stone. 

5. 1 have had the best crops when I have plowed under in August a large 
crop of clover and weeds ; then about the middle of September har- 
row the land ; then sow one bushel per acre. Plow with short plows, 
running the furrows very close, but not harrow after jDlowing. 

6. The foregoing answers express my experience as well as I can in this 

small space. 

7. I have, after 10 years' experience, learned the ground must be clean of 

sprouts and briars. It is useless to sow in very poor ground without 
fertilizers. Stable manure is best, if it has no oats, cheat er cockle. 
Break well wilTi turning plow July or August; harrow when it is 
not too dry; sow sound, clean seed, 1]- bushels per acre from Septem- 
ber 20 to October 20 ; put in with long gopher plow, without har- 
rowing after sowing. Always wanted to roll, but had no roller. 
Would roll in February or March. 

8. Wheat sown in October makes best quality and most in quantity. I 

have raised as much as 30 bushels to the acre, but the general aver- 
age is 12 to 14. This year I have 65 acres sown on clover with drill. 
I think it will average 20. I use no fertilizer. 

9. A good two'year old clover sod, on which plaster has been sown ; both 

crops mown or p;istured off; then plowed early and deep, harrowed 
and rolled until from 2J or 3 inches from the top soil is well com- 
pacted. Then drill in i-eed from Oct. 5. to Oct. 10 gives the best 
yield of wheat. 

10. I have made close observation for over 40 years, and above opinions 

have been yearly strengthened. I see clearly wlieat is to be the 
crop of this portion of Tennessee. This, together with grasses 
and labor-saving machinery is to be the order of the day. Fifty 
per cent more machinery bought in 1877 than any previous year. 

11. There is no crop that pays the farmer better for tlioroughly jireparing; 

the land than the wheat crop. Lund half prepared will produce 
half crops. I am satisfied I can find plenty of land in Davidsoai 



IN TENNESSEE. 217 

county with proper preparation and cultivalion will yield 40 
bushels of wheat per acre. 

12. My experience in smut raising this year: I sowed 50 acres that 

the seed was well soaked. My blncstone was about to give out so I 
could not make the balance of my wheat (10 bushels) as strong 
with it as I wished, but thought it would do. The last 10 bushels 
is full of smut while there is none in the 50 acrts. 

13. Little experience — raise enough for family use. 

14. Wheat should be sown early, at least by the 1st October, in order that 

it get fully set to the earth and the roots become matted in the 
ground. If not sown early I would wait until the first of December, 
so that the wheat will not freeze or spew out. ISTovember sowing is 
worse for that than early or late. 

15. But a small amount of land in this county is in condition to make 

profitable crops of wheat, and we are too far from market also. My 
best yield is 18 bushels per acre, with an average of 13 bushels per 
acre. 

16. Turn ground early as practicable, harrow when dry and r ill if cloddy. 

Wheat fallow should be turned earliest. Turn clover sod in deep 
soil 10 or 11 inches, in light soil to the clay. Use all ihe stable 
manure you have, turning it um'er. Drill f lo |^ bushels good clear 
seed to the acre, beginning about the 1st of October. If not pre- 
viously manured, use 60 to 100 bushels best Peruvian guano to 
acre — drill it in with the wheat. Top dress in the sp. ing with all 
tlie manure you have. If the wlieat is too forward jiasture with 
light stock when the ground is dry 'till the 1st of April. Sow one 
quart or three pints of Timothy seed with drill in fall, then three 
quarts of clover seed per acre in the spring. Plaster young clover 
as soon as fairly up. Let it stand one year then wheat again. 

17. Clover land not plowed or mowed, limed 50 bushels to the acre before 

plowing, turned early or sub-sc>iled. Then at sowing time cross- 
plow thoroughly and harrow. Early sowing is the best if it escapes 
tlie fly. Wheat sown from the 25th of September to the 15th of 
October does well and is seldom injured by insects. Soak seed- 
wheat in solution of bluestone. Give your ground a top dressing 
of well rotted pulverized stable manure mixed with sbiked a>hes. 
Seven-eighths bnshel white wheat, or other kinds same sized grains 
is plenty to sow to the acre. Saw more if larger grained. I have 
had 40 years' experience. 

18. There is nothing absolutely certain except disappointment, and it 

Cdmis as regularly as seed time and harvest. 

19. I make a clover sod the foundation for a wheat crop. My plan em- 

braces a six years rotation as follows : 1st. Corn on clover land 
which las been turned under in the fall. 2nd. Spring oats or mil. 
let. 3rd. Wheat, then clover for three years. I have all the ma- 



218 WHEAT CULTURE 

nure we make on tlie oat stubble, and turn it under as soon as pos- 
possible. In SeiJtember the wheat is plowed in and harrowed. My 
crop for the past year has not been le^s than 22 busiiels per acre aiid 
Luid improving. 

20. I have about given you my experience in answering the above ques- 

tions. 

21. Take too long. 

22. Wheat farming i.^ the most dtlightful part of farming, and should 

f-diare a large portion of the pride of every East Tennessee farmer. 
It yields the readiest leturn for manure, comes into market and 
always commands ready cash at a time when our farmers have no 
other crop to dispose of. 

23. My best success was by breaking my land af!er cutting my wheat, sow 

in stock peas, pasture them off', break and sow to wheat again. By 
this method I greatly increase the yield, improve my land and get 
two crops per year. 

24. I have been pressed for time to devote to this very important branch 

of industry, constquently the delay. Ever ready to do all I can. 

25. I have raided five crops in the county and only cue paid out, which 

was sown on clover ; ail other crops were sown after corn or oats. I 
think if we would sow more clover and use more fertilizers and 
lime we would do better raising wheat, and keep our lands in better 
state of cultivation for all other crops. There is no question but 
what wheat will pay tolerably well in this county after clover. 

26. I make wheat crop one ih the rotation of crops to follow clover. I use 

my fall manure on this crop and have, for some years, been able to 
average some 15 bushels to the acre on this land. We have no 
doubt the drill would be advantageous if fertilizers were used with it. 

27. My experit-nee is limited and not worth detailing. 

28. My experience is limited. I have sown wheat for thirty years — most 

of the time in small amounts. One settled fact in my mind is that 
late sawing produces smut in spite of soaking in bluestone. 

29. For clover or fal'ow land I turn as early as possible in July and Au- 

gust — never in September if I can avoid it — and harrow in if a 
heavy litter, if not, plow in closely with bull-tongues. Turn corn 
land if convenient, if not, plow with bull-tongues both ways and 
leave in that condition. Prefer manuring before plowing, or light 
top-drtssing when well rolled— this should be done when dry or 
frozen. Never sow wheal when the laud is wet, if I do I look for 
smut. I prefer sowing in dust. 

30. When wheat is sown early it will stand the winter mu' h better, and 

wheat raising in this country is to a great extent dependent upon 

the winter. If the ground is put in proper condition and has a 

dry May we will make very good wheat, particularly aftjr or on 
clover land. 



IN TENNESSEE. 219 

31. Although I have raised wheat for many years, it has been a sort of 

routine business, sowing mainly for home use and always on cotton 
■ land. It is true, some years the yield has been quite small, but I 
am fully convinced that the farmers of this county should raise 
wheat for home and non-prdducers of towns and villnges. 

32. T have been raising wheat ever since I have been farming. When I 

could get the wheat in the ground in good time, say by 15th of 
October, I have made at least a respectable crop. Last year I 
made almost a failure by planting late and in the mud. 

33. It is a pretty hard way to get to heaven. Causes more anxiety than 

other crops on account of bad weather, diseases, etc. After clover 
or corn eaten down l)y hogs — can be made interesting and profitable. 
Without proper culture better let it alone. 

3-4. My experience is limited, but find the early varieties to mitnre and 
the better state of cultivation the ground is in tiie less the wheat is 
liable to disease and the greater the yield and profit. Please send 
me a little ol the earliest variety of stili" strand that I may experi- 
ment on it. 

35. I liave no great experience in raising wheat, though I raise some every 
year, but I'm satisfied that 20 bushels per acre is attainable with 
proper cultivation on our wheat lands, but the farming is carried 
on in such a bad manner that it does not yield more than half it 
ought to. We are lacking scientific knowledge, industry and 
ent.^rprise. 

30. In ten years my average has been 18 bushels per acre. I mosty sow 
on clover land, or, when I have an extra heavy crop of grass, turn 
it under. Two years in clover, turn under, last crop is equal to a 
good coat of stable manure. I turn ten inches deep if surface is 
not rough, and harrow fine with a 40 steel tooth harrow, then put 
in my Avbeat, harrow fine not later than the 1st of October. Plow 
deep, sow good seed, not too late, on good soil and I will insure 
you a good crop. 

P. S. — I have wheat this year which will make 33J bushels per 
acre. It was grown on two river bottoms. An immensly heavy 
crop of grass Avas turned under which made the heavy wheat. It 
was two years in clover but that was all dead. 

37. Fallow land as early and deep as possible with two-horse steel plow, 

sow and harrow in. Best yield after clover; does finely after peas 
and well after weed land if plowed early and w^ell ; splendid af(er 
cotton and good after corn. Sow from 1st of October to 1st of No- 
vember; always plow deep and well. 

38. My experience is that careless preparation is one great cause of the 

failures of a remunerative yield. I don't think on high dry land^ 
the wheat is so subject to disease. I think along our river bottoms 
wheat is more subject to rust than anywhere else. 



220 WHEAT CULTURE 

39. Land should be deeply broken in the month of September and 1st of 

October, tlien harrow well ; sow and harrow in, which plan has at- 
tained better results that any I have ever adopted. 

40. I don't consider much profit in it — I am for graizlng. In this country 

if a man expects to make a living or money on wheat it will mosi 
breaJt him up. There is about one out of fifty will make money 
out of wheat. "We grass our lands and raise stock. 

41. No answer. 

42. I have been raising wheat twenty years and have made a success every 

year, not having made a failure, and from my experience I find 
that proper cultivation in good time with Becessary lertilizing will 
ensure a crop. 

43. Harvest when thoroughly rijie, then sow on light of the moon after 

extracting all the dwarf grains by scum or seive. Then roll in lime 
or ashes — is before bluestone in my own experience. I have had 
no smut since I tried, the above. 

44. For some years I have experimented with 38 different varieties of 

wheat. The most successfully raised and best of the white smooth 
is the Golden-straw, which ripens earlier and makes more flour 
and better grain than any othei*. I enclose some papers relating to 
my wheat, etc. I send also by this mail a sample of Golden-straw 
just as it came from the fan. 

45. Not much since the war, but I have been a close observer and noticed 

all the pros and cons in wheat raising, as I had determined to 
absindon cotton for rest. To raise cotton year after year with no 
wheat, clover or grass, is like killing the goose that layed the 
golden egg. Nothing but ruin and devastation awaits the farmers 
if they continue this suicidal practice. Our lands are being 
washed away and forever ruined. The business of farming has 
become most disagreeable, harassing and unproiitable of all others. 

46. I have been in the v>'heat raising and milling business for some 

years. Clover and stable manure, with the ground turned in July 
and August is the thing for wheat. Change your seed every year. 
Secure jour seed from different soil and different climate. Put it 
in when the ground is perfectly dry if possible. Let it ripen mod- 
erately well before cutting. Let it sun well before haulling in or 
you will be troubled with weavil. 

47. Willi thorough cultivation and judicious fertilizing we can and do 

make it profitable, but when we adopt the "slip shod" style usually 
practiced, it never pays. For level lands we don't get the best re- 
sults from sab-soiling, but steep hill-side lands do much better for 
sub-soiling directly for the crop. Any lands are better for wheat 
when sub-soiled once in about three years, but not directly for the 
wheat crop. We practice soaking seed in strong brine about 24 



IN TENNESSEE, 221 

hours and then rolling im lime— 2 quarts to the bushel. Thus 
treated the crop is generally free from rust and smut. 
I never raise much wheat for we have no mill in tlie country for 
'grinding flour. You are a stranger to me and I to you. I live 
seven miles south of Huntsville. I would like so see you out 
here and show you the county. I got well acquainted with old 
Capt. Chandler when he was at the tunnel working the convicts. 
He can ttll you about me. 



222 WHEAT CULTURE 



EXFERIMEiNTS IN WHEAT CULTURE. 



ExrEEIENCE OF MaJOR VANDEEFOrvD. 

" Major C. F. Vanderford, of Rutherford county, one of the most suc- 
cessful and entliu.-iastic wheat growers in the State, gives his experience 
in growing whoa;, through the Rural Sun, under dale of August 13, 1877. 
He SHys: 

Let me give a leaf from my own experience. Lnst fall I had no clover 
sod to turn for wheat. Eigliteen acres of very broken, run-down land, 
■which had been cultivated in very poor style by a tenant in 1875, and suf- 
feied to go to weed'^ in the spring and summer of 1876, was plowed last 
August. The work was well done, and completed by the 25Ui of that 
month. Nothing more was done until the first week in October, Avhen the 
land was thoroughly harrowed and cross-harrowed, leaving the surface to 
a depth of three inches in very fine tilth. This piece was seeded by 
broadcasting three pecks per acre, and plowing in with bulliongues, fin- 
ishing up by tlie 20th October. In November and December, as opportu- 
nity offered, about four acres of the poorest hill-sides were top-dre-sed 
with stable manure, about four thousand pounds per acre. In February 
of this year the field was harrowed and rolled. Yield of the eighteen 
acres, 378 bushels— twenty-one bushels per acre. 

Sixteen acres of good land, from which in 1874, I harvested 580 bushels 
of Fultz wheat, had been planted to corn in 1875, and again in ]87ti. 
The corn was g;(theied late in October, stalks chopped down, the land well 
plowed and harrowed, and immediaiely thereafter seeded in same manner 
as the eighteen acres above mentioned. Yield 201 bushels — twelve and 
a half per acre. 

This w;is Himply from bad management. It was not good farming to 
•rrow two corn crops successively on the same ground; and it was worse 
still to i)Ut wheat upon such land. If the corn had been put into shock a 
month earlier, and the soil broken so as to lie three or four weeks before 
Seeding, ihe result would have been s )tuewhat better. My object was to 
get the various fields of. the farm so arranged that hereafter a proper rota- 
tion may be practiced. I did not expect a very good crop; but the result 
was much worse than I looked for. 



IN TENXESSEE. 223 

In the businoFs of farming, as well as in all other undertakings, aa 
much can be learned from failures as from success. It is of just as much 
importance to know what ought not to be done, as to know wbat ought 
to be done. 

So far as I have heard, there will bean increased acreage of wheat sown 
this fall ; end the probability is that nearly one and three-qunrter millions 
of acres in tliis State will be devoted to this crop. In view of the im- 
mensity of the interests involved, I may be pardoned for making the fol- 
lowing suggestions — premising tiiat they are based upon actual experiences 
in the management of the clay limestone soils of Middle Tennessee. 

First, and of supreme importance: Let good, clean, well-ripened seed, 
of the variety known to be best adapted to the soil, be obtained, if possible, 
direct from ihe grower. If seed must be purchased from the grain-deal- 
ers, buy only from partie^^ of established reputation. In every instance of 
purchase from warehouses, or at second hand, let the grain be well soaked 
in the blue-stone solution. Smut spores are found in all grain warehouses, 
in railway cars, in second-hand sacks, etc. The cost and trouble of soak- 
ing seed is very little, and should never be omitted unless the seed be 
fcrown at home and known to be absolutely ^ree of smut. 

Second : Let the wheat land be plowed as early as possible. If a green 
crop of weeds, grass or clover, is to be turned under, every endeavor should 
he made to gei this part of the work done by or before the middle of Sep- 
tember, be>;inning with that part of the land which has the heaviest 
growth of weeds, etc. It is a good plan to so manage that annual weeds 
shall be turned down while in bloom, both because of the greater amount 
of fertilizing material, and that the weed seeds may not be suffered to 
ripen. At least six weeks ouglit to intervene between the breaking and 
the seeding of the land. 

Third : On no account put a plow into the soil when at all wet. This 
is the most fruitiul source of disappointment and loss. 

Fouith: Prepare the soil for seeding by harrowing the surface, two or 
more times if m ce-sary, tu .secure a tine tilth. This is essential. Cross- 
jilowing is rarely, if ever, :tdvisable, unless the breaking has been done 
unusually early, or tlie .soil has been too mnch compacted by heavy rains. 

Fiflii : Put in the seed, either with the drill or by plowing in. A good 
crop from seed harrowed in is exceptional. If it were possible in our soils 
to plaie every grain at a uniform depth of one and a half inches, it ought 
to be done. 

Sixth : After tlie seeding is comjdeted, go over the field, and wherever 
there is probability of defective drainage, lay out and of)en wide water 
iurrows, sufficiently deep and of proper fall to carry off immediately all 
surface water. These drains should be looked af.er during winter and 
kept open. 

Seventh : Surface manuring or ! op-dressing, will always pay handsomely. 
This may be done from seeding time until the period of jointing in the 



224 WHEAT CULTURE 

spring. Great care pliould be taken that manure applied upon the surface 
ehitll be evenly distributed. A small quantity will go a long way, thus ap- 
plied. I have frequently used no more than four thousand pounds per 
acre upon laiid which had not produced ten bushels of corn, and thus se- 
cured more fhan twenty bushels of wheat. Note— The earlier tlie appli- 
cation, the -more satisfactory tlie result. 

Eighth : Harrowing in February or Marcli, twice at interval.'* if possible, 
and only when the soil is in proiJcr condition for working, will increase 
the yield on ordinary land from one to five bushels per acre. For this 
purpose, a sluped-toi th harrow, witii numerous snlall teeth and those well- 
sharpened, will be found mo-t useful. Upon the lighter soils, the roller 
should follow the harrow. 

Ninth: All the operations of harvesting and threshing should be con- 
ducted with the most scrupulous care. At this time it is best not to be in 
too great a hurry. Cutting, binding and shocking should be nicely done. 

All the advantages derived from previous operations are not unfreqnent- 
ly set at nauyht by a careless and wasteful harvest. A little here and a 
little there adds up to n a ly bushels upon a large field. Judging from 
what I have seen of har\e ting and threshing in Middle Tennessee I ven- 
ture an estimate ihat the loss by slovenly harvesting in this State this 
year was not less than two millions of bushels — a year's supidy for four 
hundred thousand geojile ! " 



Impeovixg Wheat. 

A California farmer has been making some experimtnts in planting 
wheat in hil is, and cultivating as we do corn and cotton. In his last ex- 
periment he put only one seed in a hill, and the seed 26 inches apart, so 
that one p.iund of wheat j^^lanled an acre. On one half acre he harvested 
40 bushels, and on the other half 30 bushels, making 70 bushels sound 
wheat from one pound of seed. At sixty pounds to the bushel, the return 
gives 4,200 i^ounds of this cereal from one pound, or a harvest of 4,200 
fold. Nothing is more indefinite than the tillering of this grain, and the 
number of seeds that may be developed in each head. We have seen fifty 
stems from one grain in Tennessee, and have counted one hundred and 
sixty grains in one head of wheat in Western New York. In the town of 
Wheatland we had over 40 varieties of wheat under experiment in 1846. 
There is a farmer in England who raises 700 acres of "Pedigree" wheat 
in one year. Assuming that one seed will produce fifty heads in one year, 
and each ear contains one hundred and sixty seed, the harvest would be 
the enormous yield of 8,000 fold. We know but little about vital evolu- 
tion, especially in regard to the cereal grasses. Pedigree plants are more 
important than pedigree horses and sheep. — Dr. Lee, in Tlie American, 



in tennessee. 225 

Valuable Experiments. 

During the winter of 1870 I tmnKl and subsoiled two acres of land. 
About the ]5th of May I sowed it down with (.ne bushels of cow peas to 
the acre ; let ihe peas grow until the ground was covered with a luxuri- 
ant growth of vines, and until tlie earlie^^t peas were fully grown, when 
I turned it all under, where it reroained undisturbed until the middle of 
September, when I run a two-hor^e harrow over the surface and drilled 
three pecks of pure wheat to t!)e acre. Tt e yield was forty-one bushels, 
and I fed four shocks off to my hugs. A yield of five bushels to the acre 
under ordin;iry circumstances woii'd have been a fine one. I .=owed alto- 
getlier forty acre-; which yielded 294.] liushels, but ten acres with which I 
drilled unleached a.«lies, owing to the caustic nature of the ashes and the 
drought was a total failure. Four.een acres of the remainder was put in 
without manure of peas, and yieldeil five or six bushels per acre. Seven 
acres of tlie remainder was we. 1 manured, and while I did not keep the 
wlieat sepirate, yet I feel warranted in saying that it made over twenty 
bushels per acre. The remainder of my crop was fresh land, put in the 
usual way, but made a good yield. 0:ie crop in this vicinity, of about 
thirteen acre-;, sown in stalks on land that was something near medium in 
point oi fertiliiy, but which had been firmed on the corn and hay plan, 
yielded IS.} bus* el^;, or about 1^ bu.^hels per acre. You have, therefore, 
the iwo extremes of this vicinity.— [T. of Athens Post. 



Largest Yield of Wheat Eeported in the United 

States, 

Mr. Herman Powers, in the Patent Office Keport of 1853, makes this 
statement : 

"The average crop of wheat in this portion of the State (Niagara city, 
New York) is about 2o bu.shels per acre, although in many instances from 
proper cultivation the yield has been more than double. My neighbor, 
Mr. Wm. llotchkiss, who exhibited the largest yield at the World's Fair 
in London in 1852, on a field of six acres in 1848-50, averaged 63-2 bushels 
per acre of wheit weighing sixty-three pounds to the bushel. It attracted 
much attention from the wheat-growers of Europe, who could scarcely be- 
lieve so much wheat could be taken from a single acre. There was notliing 
unusual in Mr. Iloichkis.s' cultivation. He plowed deep, taking good care 
to pulverize soil well, and to intermix the top with the sub-soil, subduing 
grass, etc. The seed was drilled in near the end of August (1st October 

15 



226 WHEAT CULTUKE 

here), two bushels of 'Sonle wheat.' B'lt extraordinary as this yield wap, 
it was t^xceeded in the sauiiiier of 1853, by Mr. Thomas Powell, of this 
county, wiio averaged on a field of seven measured acre-, within a small 
fraction of seveiyty bushels per acre, namely 489 bushels. This latter 
yield was so unusual I deem it proper to give the p\rticulars of the 
method pursued in its cultivation. In the fall a heavy drt's>ing of swamp 
muck was applied. During the winter the field was used as a yard lor 
stock, including a flock of sheep. In May there was carted on a liberal 
supply of barn-yard manure, which war^ immediately plowed in very 
deep. Up to the 15ih August it wis us'd at night as a sheep-yard, when 
the fleld was again plowed tlu-ee time-s, until the soil was perfectly pulver- 
ized and thoroughly intermixed with the manure. Then two bushels of 
"Soule wheat" was lightly plowed in, sown broadcasi, and the proctss was 
completed. Th-3 ''Soiile wheit" in We.^'tern iSTuw York is the Genesste 
White Flint." 



Byed Douglas' Crop. 



For rent of wheat field $190 00 

Paid lor seed and soaking in Iduestun?, 44 lbs. per acre o5 00 

Plowing, cross-plowing, harrowing and cross-harrowing 35 acres 

clover field 70 00 

Cash for new drill $75, sharpening plows $8 83 00 

Cash paid extra harvest hands $70, use regular hands, renper and 

4 mules $30, board of hands 128 00 

Cost of hauling and stacking for thrashing 66 50 

Bill for threshing wheat p-id Clees Bro 108 00 

Extra hands to attend thresher 70 75 

Use of regular hands while threshing wheat $8, board of hands 

$27.25, making 35 25 

Extra cost of stacking stiaw 15 00 

Trai^sfer of wheat to market- and toll-gate 36 00 

Warehouse charges for weighing, storing, etc 30 50 

Warehouse commission, selling, itc 37 50 

Total cost of production $ 9ll 50 



IN TENNESSEE. 227 

CREDIT. 

By sale ol 63,^75 lbs. No 2 St. Louis Amber at $1.46 1,556 S2 

By sa'e of 1,049 Ib^.No. 2 St. L-uis wbeal at $1.46 25 42 

By sale 147 Ins. do 3 17 

By present value drill 50 00 

By value 20 stacks str.iw 150 00 

Total. $1,785 41 

Net profits of 35 acres wheat $873 91 

Per acre, nearly 25 00 

Mr. Douglas was not less skillful in selling Ids wheat at top price than 
in providing a crop of clover to feed bountifully his wheat plants. He is 
a merchant as well as farmer. Shall we call the $190 rent which he 
charges his thir;y-five acre clover deld, the value of the raw material con- 
sumed in making his staple? Wheat is not formed from nothing, wliile 
restiuition to the soil of the elements of crops is found to be indispensable- 
lJnl.:ss Mr. D>ugl.)S is willing to ignore the principle of feeding the land 
that feeds him, his statement should take account of the capitiil in the 
things sold off the farm in the shapa of grain. If the elements of the 
grain taken from the soil have no value, that fact should be stated and the 
reason for it. We impoverish land more now in one year than in ten 
years fif y years ago, by our improved implements in tillage and husband- 
ry. Hence the necessity of restitution to the soil. One Ten nes^^ee farmer 
writing to a Northh'rn journal, says his wheat yielded over sixty-seven 
bushels per acre, according to the "report of a committee." Such crops 
prove that the climaie of Tennessee is very favorable to this cereal ; for 
tiie Clevelani farmer wlio f;ets sixty-seven bushels from an acre, has no 
better climate ih;in thousands who harvest only one-tenth of the quantity 
named per acre. The causes of this wide diflerence in yield shuuld be 
universally known, and we shall pursue the discussion in the future, to 
show why 40 lbs. of seed give one man a harvest of sixty-seven bushels, 
ajid another man not over .six or seven busliels. — Dr. Lee, in The American. 



Mark Cockrill's Crop. 
FuLTz Wheat. 

Tiie land was clover lay, and broken up in August and September with 
a three-horse plow; harrowed immediately afterward with Share's harrow 
rebroke in September with two horses; sowed broadcast from 1st to 10th 
October, tlil-ee peeks to the acre ; plowed in with double shovels, and bar- 



228 WHEAT CULTURE 

rowed with a liollow-tootli linrrovv. Yield, twenty-three bushels to ihe 
acre. 

On corn-land the wheat was sown about 1st Octorer, on plats of ten 
acres, and the double .-hovels run both ways. Yield, fourteen bushels per 
acre. 

1877. — COST OF KAISIKG WHEAT ON 28 ACRES OF CLOVER LAND. 

Cost (if breaking with three horses, 28 acres, at $i 33.... $37 24 

Cost of harr()win<j three days, at %2 25 per day 6 75 

Eebn aking with two horses 32 76 

Harrowing with broad ii arrow, covering 11 feet 2 00 

Sowing, one man two days 2 00 

Seed wheat, three pecks per acre, at $1 25 per bu>hel 27 25 

Plowed ill with double shovels. 7 00 

Harrowing after sowing 2 00 

Cost of use of Kcaer, at $1 per acre, 28 00 

Five binders, at $1 for 2;^ days 11 66 

Three shockers, at $1 for 2^ days 7 00 

Two two-horse wagons for two days, at $3.. 12 00 

Two four-horse wagons (or two days, at $3 50 14 00 

Twelve men for two d:tys, at $1 24 00 

Toll paid tlireshers, one-tenih, 64,4 bushels, at $1 37 88 22 

Hauling to market, 579.6 bushels, at 2 cents 11 '59 

Kent of land, 28 acres, at $5........ 140 00 

$453 47 
Cb. 

By 644 bushels, at $1 37..... $872 28 

Deduct cost — raising, threshing, etc...... 453 47 

$428 81 
Fourteen tons of straw at $5 70 00 

Total. , $498 81 

Amount net per acre $17 81 

Equivalent to. 22 81 for rent. 

COST OF RAISING 05 ACRES OF WHEAT ON CORN LAND. 

Seed wheat, 65 bushels, at $1 25 .'^....$ 81 25 

Sowing 5^ days, at $1 5 50 

Plowing in two days with double shovels. 32 50 

Cost of cutting corn stalks 6 50 

Use of Eeaper, fl per acre.......... 65 00 

Four bindens, four d:iys, at $1 each... 16 00 

Two shockers, four days, at $1 each 8 00 

Hauling two days with four wagons *. 26 00 



IX TENNESSEE. 229 

Sevpnte°n men at $1, for two days 34 00 

Toll, one-tenth, 91 bushels, at $1 27 115 57 

Hauling 819 bushels, at 4 cents 32 76 

Rent of land, $53 50 per acre 227 80 

$650 58 
C&. 

By 910 bushels wheat, at $1 27 $1,155 70 

Deduct cost BfiO 58 

Ket proceeds $ 505 12 

Add straw, twenty tons, at $5 100 00 

Tolal net proceeds $ 605 12 

Amount nt t per acre 9 31 

Equivalent to rent per acre. 14 31 



Report of Maj. R. I. Wilson, Chairman of Far!* 
Committee of the East Tennessee University. 

Knoxvii.le, July 24, 1877. 
I have the honor to report the wheat crop growing on C(dlege Farm 
his season under the management of Mr. Roht. Cummin<;s, Farm S aper- 
intendt^nt. The ground occupied consisted of fitld "B," four acres, and 
field "A," peven acres ; total eleven acres. Field "B" had its last crop in 
corn, manured at the rate of twenty five cart Icids to the acre. It was 
broken up with double plows frcra 14ih to 18th September, 1876, harrowed 
and cleared of trash, then cultivated. On the 27th October it was sown 
with five bushels of wheat put in with a drill. It was cut June 19. Field 
"A" had for its last crop corn on a clover lay. October 6, 1876, began 
cnlting corn-stalks and cleaning up the field. The ground was tin n deep- 
ly plowed, twice harrowed, and once rolled with a heavy iron r'lier. It 
was exceedingly dry. October 26, manured with 225 bushels of lime and 
muck or river soil, in equal parts. October 26, wheat sown at tlie rate 
of ll- bushel per acre, cross drilled. March 5, 1877, on five acres ten liush- 
els salt spread. June 18, crop cut. From the beginning, field "A" was a 
little better looking and continued so. The cro.-s-dril'ing spread the seed 
more evenly over the ground, and as a consequence the stalks were more 
uniform in size and ripened more evenly. The five acres of .saltid wheat 
took on a brighter color and continued so. The two fields yielded, ol tirst- 
clasfi wiieat, 337 busliels, being an average of little over 30 bushels an acre- 
Counting ti\e screenings and tailings, the amount was fully thirty-one 
bashels per acre. Below I give a detailed statement of expenses of the 



230 "WHEAT CULTURE 

crop, taken from Mr. Cu/iimings' Look. From the figures given, that 
field "A" cost at the rate of |14.10 per acre ; field "B" at the rate of $7.75, 
being a difference of nearly two to one. This difference is due to the 
amount of salt and manure applied to "A" and not to "B." Field "B" 
had received last year nearly one hundred loads of manure, vfh'ich ren- 
dered it unnecessary to apply any this season. In this case we have 
an illustration of the great difficulty of rigidly estimating the cost of 
any given crop. Unquestionably '-E" was greatly benefited with the 
manure left over from the preceding corn crop, and in strict Justice 
should be charged with a part of the cost, but just how much it would be 
impossible to say. The only experimental features in the crop are the 
eross-drilling and the salting. I have tried the first with success hereto- 
fore ; of the other I have no experience, and the testimony of others is 
about equally divided for and ag;iinst salting. In this case it seemed to 
be a good thing to do, but I shonld require several sea-ons' trial before 
recommending the practice. The wlieat was sold to Mr. J. P. Beech, 
whose skill as a miller has already rendered his brand "gilt-edged" in the 
best markets. Kespectfully submitted, 

HUNTER NICHOLSON. 



Effects of Lime. 

Mr. P. M. Keeves, of Johnson City, gives to the Knoxville Chronicle- 
some interesting experiments with lime. Its effects upon the production 
of wheat, according to his statements, are very great. Lime should 
always be applied to soils where there is a heavy growth of vegeiable 
matter. It hastens the decay and corrects the acidity engendered by the 
decomposition of vegetable matter. 

The chemical effects of lime are, 

1st. It combines with the acids and sweetens the soil. The compounds 
formed enter the roots and feed the plants. 

2nd. It decomposes the compounds of alumina, iron and magnesia, 
and renders them hnrmless to vegetation. 

3d. It decomposes organic matter. 

4th. It renders s-olable the nitrogen in the soil. 

Mr. Eeeves, in the communication referred to, says: 

"I have been experimenting with lime since 1869, and, from careful 
tests, I think I can not be mistaken when I say that as small a quantity as 
50 bushels to the acre will do so little good that no difference will be 
noted. The smalh st amount which I have found to beot value is 140 bushels 
per acre, and this amount is much too small. I have fieids that have re- 



IN TENNESSEE. 231 

ceiveil tl;e following grades of measure: 140, 250, 300, 350, 450 and 550 
busliels per acie, all of which, except the last, have been te^^ted in culture, 
and the best nsults are from t!ie larger cpiantities. 

I have tried the mode of plowing under soon after iipplied, and find it 
a serious error. With 8ueh treatment, no favorable results are appreciated 
until after the soil is turned back and allo.ved lo remain (the lime ex- 
posed) for at least one season. 

My experience is, that the true mode consists of allowing the lime, 
after being evenly scattered over the surface, to remain thus for at least 
twelve months, and, if for two years, all the better. 

I will leave the agricultural chemists to explain how and why such 
favorable results follow ; only I will state tliis much: After the lime- 
<lres ing has remained ab^^ait one year, the soil, which before looked like a 
brick surface, shows a green moiild of a mossy character. This largely 
incieafes the second year, when the plow may be used witd the assurance 
of a good rr<.p. "^Vere I to make a chemical gue-s, it would be this: that 
tlie linv'd surface attracts the gases from the atmosphere, (foraicd from 
decaying vegetable matter) and thus forms and comliinfs with the soil (or 
clay), the salts of a fertilizing character. A. lime dressing is valuable, if 
thiis left exposed, fur a clay surface, where the soil has all been washed 
oiF, but if the dressing be soon turned under and remains, no good results 
are noticeable. 

My mode of applying the lime is to haul out as soon as it is cool 
enough ; deposit in regular heaps, and as soon as slaked scatter evenly 
over the surface. 

The land upon which I have been experimenting has been in cultiva- 
tion from 55 t.) 60 ye.irs. About one-hair' of the area is what may be 
called oak ;ind hickory, and the other chestnut land. At the time I cora- 
menC' d using lime, (I refer to that receiving the dressing 350 to 450 
bushels per acre), the best yield of wheat was not above seven bushels per 
acre. Now, for the pasjt three yeais, the yield has been from 25 to 26 
busheis per acre. Bvfore the lime was applied 20 to 25 bushels of corn 
was the be>t average yield. Now the yield is from 45 to 50 bushels. Be- 
fore lime was ajiplied, clover wo ild die out the first year after sowing, 
now it sticks well and gives a good yield of hay and ol seeds the same as 
to timothy. 

Another feature : What we call wire grass and sheep sorrel (both 
noisome pests) disappear after the ground is well limed. The labor of 
prei)aring the wood and rock and burning the lime cost me not in excess 
of He. per bushel. As will be seen, the increase yield for one year is 
largely in excess of the expense of liming; and, after several years con- 
tinued crops, the impiovement to tiie s ul seems of a permanent character; 
that is, it seems to be restored to something like its condition and sireiigth 
soon after it was first cleared. 



232 AVHEAT CULTURE 

To apply the facts as I have le.nrneii tliem by experience, take one Mcre 
of land not worth for cultivation more than ten do!lar.s, and put 500 
busliels of lime on it, at a cost of S7.oO, and after two years chemical ope- 
ration the acre is worth at least tliiny dollars. 

I fully believe that there are at least 200,000 acres of land in Ea«t 
Tennessee badly needing lime, and now not worth more tliat $2,000,000, 
but which if ireated to the lime per acre I siigG;tst, at a cost of $1,800,000, 
will be worth I'ul y $0,000,000, a net gain over all expenses, of $2,200,000. 
Apply the figures to a single firm, say of one hundred acres, now 
worn to a hard clod-iormation, 6^osso//u);^ out with red A:tto//s. As a farm, 
this one hundred acres is dear at one thousand doll .rs. The owner feels 
he is doing his best if he gaiher 700 busliels of wheat, or 2,500 bushels of 
cirn from it, but let him add 50,000 bushels of lime to it, at a cost o'' $750, 
lu iking the statiing value and cost erf improvement amount to $1,750, 
and it is wortii to him $'.,000. Why? Because it yields him 2,500 
bushels of wheat (1,800 bushe s more), or 5,000 bushels of corn, (2,500 
bushels more). Farmers with worn out land should "go to liming" in- 
t-tead of "going West." Just now burning lime pays better than any other 
labor. " 

STATISTICS OF WHEAT. ■ 



Exports of Wheat. 



As an exhibit of the iinportiint position the United States occupirs as a 
grain-growing country, and her capacity to feed foreign naiions, I append 
the statistics of the exports from 1865 to 1877, inclusive. By refer- 
ing to thtse tables it will be seen we are not only feeding our own jjopula- 
tion, but we are also contributing largely to the support of the teeming 
populati'ins of Europe. Many countries, from their peculiar location as 
climate, etc., 'U-e unable to feed their people, and they must consequently 
draw upon other countries situated in more favorable localities, while they 
themselves must engage in such purstiit- as will afford them tlie means of 
purchasing these siipplii.s. Still other nations have such a dense popula- 
tion tiie soil is not cnpal'le of feeding it, and these also must go elsewhere 
f(.r fo d. England belongs to the latter class. Even n:.w gaunt famine, 
Willi her aid, pestilence, is stalking over the plains of India, destroying 
thousands of the poor natives, and the armies of two great wheat-produc- 
ing nations, Russia and Turkey, are marshalled in hostile array, taking 
from the country the laboring classes, thtis cutting down their own pro- 
due's ; while we, with bur^ting birns of cereals, are awaiting tJie call to 
erapiy them. These and other causes will make the ju-eseut crop of great 
value to us, and the fluctuations of prices are now due to combinations of 
purchasers, and as a consequence will be temporary. We think the agri- 



IN TENNESSEE. 



233 



culturists of America need have no fear of the ultimate remnnerative 
price of all lier breadstiitfs, not only for the present but for the next year- 

STATE!MENT quantity of wheat and FI.OUR exported from 1825 TO 

JUNE 30, 1877. 



BUSHELS BARRELS 

OF WHKAT. of FLOUR. 



Five vcar.s ending in 18o0. 

18.35.. 

1840., 

" '• " 1845., 

'■ " ' 3850., 

1855., 

" " " I860., 

" " " 1865., 

' 1870. 



For 1871. 
1872. 
" 187;^. 
" 1874. 
" 1875. 
' 1 876 . 
" 1877. 



125,547 

614,145 

1,842.841 

2,946.861 

10,1 841645 

16,446.955 

38,808,573 

138,306,91)7 

81,808,364 

34,304,906 

26,423,080 

39 204. 2S5 

71,039,928 

53,047,179 

55,073,122 

40,325,611 



4,651.940 
&. 24 1,964 
4,092,932 
6,274.697 
2,284,828 
3,149 518 
5,778,268 
9.757,733 
1,451,785 
3,(i55,841 
2,514,535 
2,562,086 
4,094,094 
3,973,001 
3,i)35 512 
3,343,665 



statement showing the value OF WHEAT AND FLOUR EXPORTED 
FROM 1865 TO 1877 inclusive, from JUNE 30 TO JUNE 30. 



WHEAT. FLOUR. 

$ 19,398,028 $27,507,084 

7.842,749 18,396,686 

7,822,555 12,803,775 

30,247,6)2 20,887,798 

24,383,259 18,813,865 

47,171,229 21,169,-593 

45,143,424 24,09,3,184 

1872 38,915,060 17.9.55,684 

1873 51,452,2.54 19,381,664 

1874 101,421,4.59 29,2.58,094 

1875 59,607,86.3 23,712,440 

1876 68,382,899 24,433,470 

1877... 47,135,.562 21,663,947 

STATEMENT SHOWING THE EXPORT PRICE OF WHEAT AND FLOUR. 



1865. 
1866. 
1867., 
1868. 
1869., 
1870., 
1871., 



Ten vears lo 1840. 
Ten "ytars to 1850. 
Ti-n yrars to 1860. 
Ten yearvs lo 1870. 



WHEAT PER 


FLOrR PER 


BUSHKL. 


BARREL. 


$1 04 


$6 06 


1 19 


5 41 


1 35 


6 25 


1 35 


7 22 



234 WHEAT CULTURE 

STATEMENT SHOWING THE NUMBER OF BUSHELS GROWN IN THE UNITED 
STATES FOR THE FOLLOWING YEARS. 

1869 287,745,620 

1870 235,684,700 

]871 ■ 230,722,400 

1872 249,097,100 

1873 , 281,254,700 

1874 809,102,700 

1875 292,136,000 

1876.. ....289,356,500 

1877 325,000,000 

The avt'r,;ge annual prod iicl ion for the {last five years has bten about 
284,000,000 bushels, of wliich about 65,000,000 were exported. The 
amount kejit at home was about 219,000,000 bushels, of which about 
33,000,000 were uped for seed. The exports from Tennessee now average 
about 6,000,000 busliel.s per annum. 

AMOUNT GROWN IN TENNESSEE ACCORDING TO THe ESTIMATE OF AGRI- 
CULTURAL DEPARTMENT AT WASHINGTON. 

Busliels. 

1869 6,188,926 

1870 7,357,000 

1871 5,149,000 

1872 10,298,000 

1873 7,414,000 

1874 ' 11,121,000 

1875 13,130,000 

1876 11,260,000 

The acreage and value of the wheat crop fur this S^ale in 

Acre>. Viilue. 

1875 1,541,705 $13,261,000 

1876 1,356,620 10,071,800 

Tlie cro'i of 1877 will probably go to 11,000,000 busheLs, valued at 
$13,200,000. 



An Ebsay, Eead by John M. Meek, before the 
East Tennessee Farriers' Convention, held at 
Knoxville, on tpie J 0th of October, 1877. 

Tojoie — The Proper Time to Sow Wheat. 

In the brief time allotted for the consideration of this subject, only a 
few of the most important' facts gained from observation and experience 



IN TEi!^NESSEE. 235 

in the culture of this cereal may be presented in connection with what 
has been learned from the tested results and experience of the most suc- 
cessful wheat producers of the world. Tlie first su>jgestion, then, present- 
ing itself for condderation, in determining the proportion to ?ow wheat, is 
climatic influence, and the kind of wheat sown — though, inasoinch as very 
Uttle sprins; wheat is grown in this latitude, our inquiries may be limited 
to the proper time of sowing fall or winter wheat. With proper in;orma- 
tion as to the probable changes of weath'-r induced l>y the recurring sea- 
sons, we may determine, with a sufficient degree of certainty, the proper 
time to sow; and it may be stated here, in general terms, that this time is 
included between the 15th of September and the 25th of October; notwith- 
standing, wheat sown previous to and succeeding these dates lias been 
known to produce good crops. These dates are considered the extremes, 
and a safi; mean between the;n, as in most other enterprises, is more surely 
to yield profitable results. 

It may again be stated, as a general maxim, that the proper time to sow 
is when the iiround has been put in proper condition to receive the seed 
To determine this requires a knowledge of the natural history of the plant^ 
its chemical needs, and necessary environments, to insure a healtliy and 
vigiirous growth and prolific yield. The farmer who has produced fifty 
bushels of wheat upon an acre of Tennessee soil can better elucidate this 
phase of the subject, than he who has produced ten bushels per acre. 

The time to sow is also governed, to a gre:)t extent, by the kind of soil 
upin which it is determined to sow wheat. If it be stiff clay loam, it de- 
mands eaily seeding, because, in such soil, more time is required for the 
germination of the seed, demanded by its greater resistance to atmospheric 
influtnces. If, on the other hand, it be'a light, potous soil, such as is 
found in the limestone formation, or the rich alluvial deposits, it will bear 
later sowing, for the rea-on that such soils respond leadily to atmospheric 
forces, and hasten germination. 

Time should be given the 2:)lant to fortify itself against the rigorous 
assaults of winter, by a sufficient growth of lateral roots. 

Tiie tip root is easily broken by the lifting pioce-s of freezing, and if the 
l^lant is not supplied with lateral roots, it is killed, or makes but a feeble 
growth preceding the time when all its strength is demanded to | roduce 
the stalk, the blade, and the full grain of wheat. The average i)roduction 
of wheat per acre in Tennessee, which is about eight bushels, would seem 
to indicate that there is no proptr time within our limits in whicii to sow 
wheati On the other hand, is dated cases, in which the yield has liecn 
made to reach as high as sixty busliels per acre, demonstrate beyond a 
doubt that theie is a proper time. 

The average farmer may not be able to reach so great a yield as this, 

unles,-; the average production can be raised from its present low rate, 

it ia a fact capable of <lem nstration that there is no proper time to 

BOW wheal in the State of Tennessee. The farmer, to be successful, cannot 



236 WHEAT CULTURE 

give time to, the proriuction of unreni'inerative crops, and no intelligent 
farmer will agree tliat eight bushels of wheat per acre will pay cost of pro- 
duction, and leave sufScient margin to justify its cultivation as a source of 
profit. 

But it hns been shown that, with our advantages of soil and cliraate> 
tliirty, fori-y, fifiy, and even sixty bushels per acre may be produced, when 
ii surely follows that there is a proper time for sowiner, which may be de- 
termined by a close observance of the growih, habit and food of the 
wheat plant. In addition, it is necessary to knoAV, also, whether the soil 
is in a condition to meet those requirements. • it is, then the natural 
history and pliysioloj,'y of the plant will in licate the time of sowing with 
the tiecc-sary safe-guards against its enemies. Here is opened a wide 
field for research, and the acquisition of valuable information. It may 
be objected by some that th's will demand too much of the farmer's time. 
So it lias been urged since the time when Cincinnatus left the plow-han- 
dhs to guide the Roman Itmpire; yet it has slowly dawned upon the 
world, through the labois of such men as Leibeg, that successful and in. 
teliigmt agriculture demands more patient research, and a higher degree 
ot administrative ability, than any of the learned professions. The olu- 
tion of the question, then, as to the proper time to sow wheat, resolve** 
itself llms: The necessary ability and willingness on the part of the 
farmer to acquire and practically apply, in the cultivation of his fieldsi 
the knowledge that is acquired in the successful cultivation of this mighty 
agent of civilization. 

The want of this inform ition has already depleted our once fertile lands 
of their productive strength, and barren fields, with bristling sedge scat- 
tered over our State, are the sad monument.*? of our lamentable f lly and 
ignorance. Chronic discourag^'raents rest like an incubus upon the pro- 
ductive energy of our people, and many are silently gathering their house- 
hold fiO(.ds and soeking homes elsewhere. For thuse of us who remain 
there is left a great work. The resuscitation of our drooping energies, and 
the re-animation of our faith that th( re is life in the land yet, is oursi 
and the preservation of the heritage once so rich in possibilities. It is 
ours to stiauilate the flagging zeal of t( iling masses, and attract the intro- 
duction of new people, energy, and capital. It is left us to show to the 
woild that God has given us the fairest domain the sun ever shown on, 
with capabilities of wealth, such as were never dreamed of by the pioneers 
of the Western World. We can do this by intelligent farming, by increas- 
ed pro hiction, by increised immigration to take the places of those leav- 
ing us, by clothing our fields in grass and clover, and covering them with 
herds of blocdcd cattle and floikt^ ef thorough-bred sheep; and thus de- 
monstrate that there is a " proper time to sow wheat " by an increased 
yield of from thirty to sixty bushels per acre, and that we have discovered 
that time to be in accordance with intelligent culture and wise rotation of 
crops. 



in tennessee. 237 

On the Best Mode of Preparing Straw-Chaff for 
Feeding Purposes. 

By Dr. Augustus Voelcker, F. E. S. 

Mr. Samuel Jonas, of Clirisliall Grange, Saffron Waldon, Enj^land, 
gave an interesting account of a plan of j)reiiaring straw-chaff for feeding 
purposes, and preserving it for winter use, which he found extremely use- 
ful in praciice. 

The peculiarity of Mr. Jonas' plan consists in the use of a small quantity 
of green rye or green tare s as a fermenting agent. 

Mr. Jonas, who for many years has been a great advocate for tlie con- 
sumption of a large por.ion of straw chaff for feeding purposes, uses a 
twelve-horse power engine hy ilornsby, for thresliing, dressing and liag- 
ging tiie corn ready for market, ai d cutting the straw into chaH at the same 
time. With a ton of straw-chaff lie u-ts about one hundre I weight 'i 
rye or tire-, cut green into chaff, and one bushel of common salt. This ia 
dore ill sprit:g and summer; the chaff is not, used until October or the 
winter months. 

The addition of the green stuff causes the straw-chaff mixture to heat • 
the volatile and odoriferous principles produced by the fermentation are 
retained by the siraw-chaff, itself undergoing a kind of slow cooking pro- 
cess, and they impregnae the whole mass with an extremely jjiea-ant 
flavor, scarcely inferior to that which characterizes well made meadow-hay. 

It appears to me interesting if not useful to compare the nutiitive pro- 
perties of straw-chaff, prepurtd according to Mr. Jonas' plan, wiih ordi- 
nary wheat straw, and I therefore made a careful analysis of a sample of 
cluiff taken from the bulk at Chrishall Grange, and kindly supplied to me 
by Mr. Jonas. 

The following results were obtained in the analysis of this straw-chaff: 

Moisture 7.76 

O I and fatly matter 1.60 

Albumin lus compounds (flesii-forming matters)* 4.19 

Sugar, gum and other organic compounds soluble in water 10.16 

Digrs ible fibre o5.74 

"VVoody fibre (cellulose) 34.54 

Insoluble mineral matter (chiefly silica) 3.20 

Saline mineral matters (chiefly common salt) 2.81 

100.00 
'■■Containing nitrogen, .67. 

In exphmation of the term woody fibre (cellulo.se) in the preceding 
analysis, I would observe that it app ies to that piirtion of the si raw-chaff 
which remains behind aft; r successively boiling the mateiial with water, 
dilute sulphuric acid and dilute caustic potash solution, and exhausting 



238 WHEAT CULTURE 

the residunl dried substance willi alcohol and ether. There can be no 
doubt that the difTerent alkaline and add secrelioris in the animal organ- 
ism exercises similar, probably even more energet'c effects upon straw 
than these successive exhaustions with various chemical agents in the 
laboratory. IMie treatment with dilute acid and alkali, therefore, affords 
a better ir.sight into the digestiliility of the bulk of straw than 
the mere cxhausiion with water. Let us now compare the prcccdingk 
analyiical re-iulta with the composilion of ordinary wheat chaff. 

The following is the composition of a sample of well harvested wheat 
straw, which was neitl'.er under nor over rij e: 

Moisture 13.33 

Oil and fatty matter 1.74 

Albuminiius compounds (fl-rsh-forming matters i* 2.93 

Sugar, gum and other organic compounds solul)le in water 4.26 

Digestible fibre 19.40 

"Woody fibre (cellulose) 54.13 

Insoluble mineral matter (chiefly silica) 3.08 

Saline soluble mineral substance 1.13 



100.00 
•■'Containing nitrogen A7. 

A c impar'son of the composition of ordinary good wheat straw with 
that (jf straw-chaff prepared by the system pur.^ued by Mr. Jonas, brings 
out several points of interest, on which a few observations deserve lo be 
made. 

1. In the first place it may be remarked that both kinds of si raw-chaff 
contaiii about the same proportion of oil. The oil exhausted from straw 
by means of ether has a bright yellow color, is sweet to the taste and ren- 
ders straw more palatable and more nutritious than it would be without 
this c nistituent. It is appreciable in quantity, for according to the pre- 
ceding d .ta, one ton of straw-chaff contains about thirty-nine pounds of oil. 

2. It will be seen that fermented straw-chaff contains rather more than 
four per cent, of albuminous or flesh firming compounds, wbereas ordi- 
nary wheat straw contains in round numbers only three per cent. The 
prepared wheat chaff, therefore, is one-fourth richer in materials whicli 
jiroduce the substance of the lean fibre of meat, or the muscle. 

3. Common wheat straw, of good quality, contains about lour and a half 
per cent, of sugar, gum and similar soluble organic compounds. In over- 
ripe straw the amount of these soluble matters is less. On the other hand, 
in the sample of ermented straw-chaff analyzed by me, the per centageof 
sugar, gum, etc, amounted to 10.16, or nearly two and a half times the 
amount whiiii occurs in good unprepared wheat straw. The much larger 
])roportion of sugar and other soluble matters in tlie fermented straw, no 
doubt, is due to the green stuff employed in its preparation ; but, at the 



IN TENNESSEE. 239 

same time, tlie process of heating (he mixture, it is quite probable, mny 
have had ihe effect of rendering the chaiFmore soluble in water. 

Bearing in mind that the chaff prepared by Mr. Jonas contains so large 
a proportion of siiccnient matter, it is no wonder that cattle and sheep 
are fond of it, am! tiirive upon it in a much higher degree than upon 
ordinaiy wheat straw. 

4. A comparison of the relative propurtions of digestil)!e and of woody 
fibre in f.ruiented wheat-cbaff, with their proportions in common wheat 
straw, exhibits striking differences, which cannot fail to arrest the atten- 
tion of stock-feeders. 

Taking together digestible and woody fibre, we have, in the fermented 
slraw-chaff, 70.38 per cent., and in ordinary wheat straw 73.53 per cent; 
showing a slight dithrence in favor of the fermented ciiafi, vhich, being 
richer in sugar and other matters soluble in water, contains about three 
per cent, les-3 vegetaiile fibre than common wheat straw. 

When the vegt table fibre of each kind of s! raw- chuff, or the material 
insoWible in cold and boiling water, is treated with dilute acids and alka- 
lies of the same strength, for tbe same length if time, and in all other 
respects precisely alike, a certain proportion of Ihe vegetable fibre is ren- 
dtreii soluble. This soluble portion figures in the preceedng analysis as 
digestible fibre; whilst the matter insoluble after treatment with the vari- 
ous chemical agents, is termed indigestible or woody fibre (cellulose). 

Although it is not meant to convey by these term-, the idea that ani- 
mals have tlie power of resolving crude vegetable fibre into digestible and 
into woudy fibre, in precisely the same ratio in which we can separate 
them in the lahoraloiy, a tolerably good opinion may be formed of the 
relative digesiibilit}' of various foods consisting, principally of vegetable 
fi!>re, by submiiting them to the process usually employed in the labt.ra- 
tories lor the dett-rmination of woody fibre. 

In the cases before us, it Aviil be seen that, of the total amount of vegeta- 
ble fibre present in the fermented wheat-chaff, thirty-five and three-quar- 
ters p.-r cent, were rendered soluble by the treatment presciibed, and 
thirty-four and a half per cent, (in round numbers) left behind as indiges- 
tible woody fibre, whilst ihe seventy-three and a half per cent, of vege- 
tible fibre pres. nt in common wheiit straw chaff were resolved, by treat- 
ment with dilute ;icid and alkaline liquid, into nineteen and a half per 
cent, only of digestible, and into fifty-four per cent, of indigestible w^oody 
fibre. In otlier words, the same treatment rendered soluble 50.S5 per 
cent of the vegetable fibre of the fermented prepared chaff, and only 26.38 
per cent, of the fibre of coinnjon wheat si raw. 

These differences are very marked, and well calculated to explain, in a 
great measure, the great superiority of the fermented chaU as a feeding 
material over the common straw-cliaff. 

The fermentation to which the straw is submitted in Mr. Jonas' plan, 
thus has the effect of rendering the hard and dry substance wliich consti- 



240 WHEAT CULTUKE 

tutes the bulk of straw more soluble nnd digi stible than it is in its natural 
condition. But, as useful as is the effei't oftheslow and moist heat, develo) ed 
in the mixUire of straw-chaff witli ureen ry.- or cut tares, which is no doubt 
in rendering the filire of the chafF nmre digestible, this is not the only ivco- 
mendution of Mr. Jonsis' admirable [ilasi of prcpaiing a really very nutri- 
tive and important food for stock. 

Another recommendation is, the extremely delicate flavor and the 
palatable condition which is conferred upon the straw in the process of 
fermentMtion. The prepared sir.iw-chaff kindly sent to me by Mr. Jonas 
had all the agreeable smell which chaiarterizes'good green meadow-hay, 
and a hot. inlusiun with water produced a liquid which could hardly be 
distini:uished from hay tea. 

Although fermented chafF resembles hay so much in taste and smell, it 
need hardly be stated that the lat'er is more valuable for feeding purposes- 
However, the difference in the nutritive properties of meadow-hay and 
straw ch .iY m itle from rather under-ripe wheat straw prepared and fer- 
mented in accord:uice wiili Mr. Jonas' directions is not so great as might 
be iuja-ined by some. A little cake, ground into meal and sprinl>led 
over the chaff, woul I go far to oblitera e the difference in the feeding 
quality of tlie two kinds of chaff. 

I would particularly recommend for that purpose a cake rich in albu- 
minous compounds. Green German rape-cake, or decorticated cotton- 
I cake, addrd to the straw-chaff in but small quantities, will bring up the 
per centage of albuminous compounds to what it is in good meadow-hay. 
Best decorticated co;ton-cake coiualns about forty per cent., green rape 
cake about thirty-three per cent., and the finest linseed-cake from thirty to 
to thirty-two per cent, of albuminous compounds. About 2 cwts. of 
decoiticaied cotton-cake, ground into meal and added to one ton of 
fermented straw-chaff, presuming it lo have always the same composition 
as the sample analyzed by uie, I find constitutes a mixture which agrees 
closely in composition with Lood meadow-hay. 

In order to enable others to compound a mixed food from straw-chaff, 
resembling in cnmposition good meadow-hiy, I have placed in the fol- 
lowing table the analysis of ordinary wheat straw, of the fermenied 
sample, and the mean results of twenty five analyses of commom meadow- 
hav: 



IN TENNESSEE. 



241 



Moisture 

■Oil and fatty matter 

Albimiiuons compoumls (fiesU-forming matters)'''... 
Sugar, gum and other soluble organic compounds. 

Digestible fibre 

Indigestible .woody fibre (cellulose) , 

Mineral matter (ash) 

* Containing nitrogen 



Compositions of 



Common 
meadow- 
hay. 



14.61 

41.07 

'27.16 
6.16 



Fermented 
and prepared 
straw-chaff. 



7.76 
1.60 
4.19 
1(1.16 
Sj 74 
34,.54 
6.01 



loO.UO 



■WTaeat- 

straw 

ohaff. 



i:i..33 
1.4 

4'>« 
111.40 
54.13 

4.21 



100.00 



1.35 



Meadow-hay, it will be seen, contains ratlier more than twice as much, 
albuminous or flesh-forming matter as the sample of straw-chaff of which 
the analysis is here given ; hence the advisability to add to the latter 
some oil-cake, whicli, moreover, will have the effect of raising the per 
centage of oil. and bringing it up to about the same amount as is found in 
meadow-hay. 

Cliaff, especially if made from over-ripe straw, is not much liked by 
sheep and cattle, on account of its insipid taste and harshness; and con- 
■siderable difficulty is experienced to induce stock to consume straw-chaiF 
in as large a quantity as is desirable. To meet this difficulty, several 
stock-feeders with wbom I am acquainted have found it useful in practice 
to use straw-chafif with some treacle previously diluted with sufRcient 
water to impregnate uniformly tlie chafi with the sweet liquid. The only 
fault I have to find with this otherwise good plan of rendering chafTmore 
palatable is, that the farmer has to pay fiom £13 to £14 per ton for the 
treacle, and obtains in that material only about fifty-four to sixty per 
■cent, of sugar, the rest being water and impurities of no feeding value. 

By Mr. Jonas' plan, straw-chaff ia not merely made more palatable, 
but as it is mixed with a little green food, it undergoes a slow cookinjj 
process, and becomes more digc-^iible and permeated by a delicate hay 
flavor. Thus the most is made,- both of the green stuff and the straw., 
and an excellent food is provided, at a trilling expense, greatly superior in 
feeding properties to treacled ordinary straw-chaff, which costs moz"e 
money. 

The great simplicity of preparing and storing straw-chaff, and the inex- 
pensiveness of jNIr. Jonas' plan, are further advantages, which all who 
■consume much straw for feeding purposes may secure to tliemselves. 

The more one looks into this subject, the more one becomes impressed 
witb the great praciical value of Mr. Jonas' plan of preparing a mo.-t 
li-eful and nutiitious auxiliary food ; and it is much to be de.^ired that 
this extremely simple, inexpensive and, in all respects, excellent plan 
of dealing with straw for feeding purpo^^es, may be spread throughout the 
•length and breadth of the country. 

16 



%\2 WHEAT CVhTURE 



WEST TENNESSEE AS A WHEAT PEODUCING 
EEGION. 



Since the foregoing pages were put to press, the writer 
has paid a visit to those regions of West Tennessee, from 
which but few reports were received. The investigations 
show that the natural productive capacity of part of West 
Tennessee for this cereal surpasses that of any other division 
of the State, Lake county, which is a bed of alluvium, 
lies between Reelfoot Lake and the Mississippi river. The 
average production of wheat for the year 1877 was twenty 
bushels per acre. Thirty bushels are not uncommon, and 
one gentleman made 53 bushels per acre. 

On page 106 it is stated that in Lake county, owing to 
the exuberant fertility of the soil, wheat is apt to bed and 
rust. This remark needs modification, and applies only to 
the later varieties of wheat. The earlier varieties rarely 
fell to make a heavy yield. This is true, also, of the wheat 
gown on the rich terrace soils of Shelby, Tipton, Lauder- 
dale, Dyer and Obion, known to geologists as Bluff Loam 
or Loess. The average production upon these soils after 
clover is not far from twenty bushels per acre. 
' The soils of the Lagrange sands occupying Fayette, Hay- 
wood, Crockett, Gibson, Weakley and Madison, and the 
western parts of Henry, Carroll, Hardeman and a small 
portion of Henderson are not so prolific, but with thorough 
preparation after clover or peas, the avei^age yield of wheat 



IN TENNESSEE. 243 

is from 12 to 15 bushels per acre, though from 20 to 25 
bushels are not uncommon in favored localities. 

The soils between these last-mentioned counties and the 
Tennessee river are not so productive. The surface is either 
very flat, so as to retain water, or very rolling, sometimes 
rugged, though many good areas very fruitful in the pro- 
duction of cereals are met with. 

As a general thing the lands of West Tennessee are much 
fresher than those in either of the other divisions of the 
State, and the average production of wheat per acre is not 
far from 13 bushels. 

It is curious to observe that the quantity of wheat sown 
per acre in West Tennessee is much less than in the other 
divisions of the State. From a half to three-quarter bush- 
els per acre is all required on these fertile soils. It tille-rs 
in a remarkable degree. 

In Middle Tennessee the average yield is about ten 
bushels, and in East Tennessee eight bushels. It must 
not be inferred, however, that the really good wheat 
lands in the two last mentioned divisions are in- 
ferior to the best in West Tennessee. In McMinn, 
Monroe, Louden, Knox, Jefferson, Hamblen, Greene 
and Washington counties are found soils that are 
capable of making from 30 to 40 bushels of wheat per acre, 
while throughout the Central Basin, in Middle Tennessee, 
and on that tier of counties lying on the Kentucky line, on 
the Highland Rim, notably Robertson, Montgomery and 
Stewart, the lands, when well preserved, grow wheat with a 
remarkable fecundity. 

The best wheat soils of West Tennessee are very tender, 
and require a high degree of watchfulness to keep them 
from washing. This is true of all the counties named ex- 
cept Lake and the western parts of Dyer, Lauderdale and 
Tipton, which are in the Mississippi bottoms. A belt ex- 
tending two or three miles back from the river, and parallel 
with it, and including also all of Lake, is above overflow, 



244 WHEAT CULTURE 

probably, one year with another, will make a larger average 
of wheat and corn than any other equal quantity ot land in 
the State.- The plant food here has been gathered from all 
that vast region drained by the upper tributaries of the 
Mississippi, and, with any sort of care, will last forever. 
In no part of the State is the production of wheat extend- 
ing more rapidly than in West Tennessee, and where it is 
proving to be a more remunerative crop. The attention 
paid to the preparation of the soil, its remarkable fertility, 
its contiguity to ihe best wheat markets, all lead to the be- 
lief that this division of the State will soon outstrip both 
Middle and East Tennessee in the production of this im- 
portant cereal. 



IN TENNESSEE. 245 



INDEX. 



A 

Advantages for growing wheat in Tennessee 62 

iEgilops ovata 28 

Air- Effects of ! 78 

ir and light essential for the germination of wheat 79 

Agricultural causes of failure in wheat crops 162 

Agricultural causts. — Remedies for 164 

Alluvial soil 115 

Amber — Smooth head 53 

Amber — Bearded head 51 

Amount of wheat raised in Tenuessee 117 

Ammonia — Errors of farmers in reference to 127 

Ancient habitat of wheat 19 

Andrews' Red 57 

Analysis of wheat and wheat straw 67, 68, 69, 70 

Analysis described 74 

Analysis of ashes 75 

Analysisof fertile soil 76 

Armstrong, J. B. — Experiments with wheat 22 

Atmospheric causes of failure in wheat 162 

Atmospheric cans, s — Not within our control 163 

Australian white wheat 51 

Average jier acre in England 62 

United States 62 

Tennessee 62 



B 



Banks— Flir Jus' — Experiments with seeds 26 

Best practical fertilizers 127 

Bedford county — Results of good farming 138 

Blight ; 1G3, 161 

Blount, A. E., letter from , 141 



246 WHEAT CULTURE 

Botanical names of wheat 14 

Boughton or Bowden wheat 48 

Borax '. 04 

Bradley county — Letter fiom 141 

British Association — Experiments of 83 

C 

Canaile 65 

Calcareo-siliceous soil 13 

Calcareous soil 14 

California — Wheat culture in 100 

Campbell, W. B., letter from 134 

Canada Club wheat 61 

Carbon 94 

Carbonic acid — Error respecting 127 

Caries or black wheat 167 

Change of climate and soil on wheat 41 

Causes effecting crops 162 

Chaff 205, 237 

Change of seed — Advantages of 63 

Chalybeate water 92 

Chess or cheat 33 

Vitality of 35 

Errors respecting 35 

Chemical analysis of wheat 73 

Chinch I ug 174 

Chilhowee sandstone soil 109 

Clawson wheat 50 

Classification of wheat 43 

Classes of wheat 46 

Clay — Of what composed 90 

Clay soil indispensable to wheat 101 

Climate and soil — Effect on wheat 39 

Ciiniate — Effects on yield 63 

Clinch Mountain sandstone soil 109 

Coat of manure preventive of winter killing 120 

Clover — How it acts on exhausted soils 147 

Clover — Analysis of 116 

Cold and heat— Damage from 9 

Constitutional causes of bad wheat crops 165 

Cockle 32 

Component parts of wheat 75 

Cool weather — Effects of 61 



IN TENNESSEE. 247 

CockrIlPs, Mark, crop 227 

Correspondent's names 179 

Cost of cultivating wheat 156 157 

I Couch grass 3t* 

Crops— Rotation of '. IS^ 

Culture of wheat — Limits of 7 

Cumberland Table-land 165 

Soils of *., HO 



•I> 



Daniels — Experiment of liS 

Deep and shallow plowing 124 

Deihl wheat 47 

Denon, M. — Experiments of ^3 

Depth of grain on tillering .• : ......88, 89 

Depth to sow wheat &) 

Difference of temperature on wheat.. 9 

Difficulty of exterminating cheat K 

Diseases of wheat 161 

Douglas', Bjrd, crop „ 2^ 

Drill— Use of... .' 139 

Drilling versus broadcast 129 

Drilling or dibbling in England 139 

Dryness and darkness on seed > 7S 



E 



Early white May wheat , 48 

East Tennes_sess Valley for wheat _ 102 

£a^t Tennessee — Mean temperature of. 106 

Effects of late sowing 61 

of cold weather on ripening 61 

of climate on yield 6S 

ot ligh', heat and raoi>tiire on germination... 78 

(if feeding sheep on land 102 

Elements comiiosing volalile ^Darts of wheat 75 

England, aveiage yield of wheat 62 

kind of soil be.st lor wheat... 100 

Exp, rieiice de ermines habitat 10 

JExperiments - Interesting 14 

with different varieties 23 

with seeds 64, '26 

on hybridization. ^..... ._. 17 



248 • WHEAT CULTURE 

Experiments at State Lunatic Asylum > 137 

made in Sweden 81 

by M. Denon 8<> 

by British Association 8S 

in regard to wheat roots 88 

in wheat culture 222, 215,137, 128 

drilling versus broadcast 120 

valuable. •• 225 

• 
F 

Feldspar — Composition of 91 

Fertilizing wheat — Theory of. 74 

Fertile soil — Analyses of 76 

Fertilizers — Most practic.ible .' 127 

Fullz wheat — Origin of 42. 

yield of 227 

G 

Genesee wheat 50 

German method of preventing rust ...'. 170, 61 

Germination of wheat 85 

Golden-straw, Golderi-chaflf ?.. 54 

Grani'.e — Composition of. 91 

Green sand soil.... • 114 

H 

Hamlet, Thomas — Experience with chess 34 

Harris wheat - ••• 60 

Harrison, Jno. H — Experience of 137 

Harvesting — Old method 158 

Heat and cold — Damage from 9 

Heat— Effects of ■ 78 

Hessian Fly 171 

High temperature on wheat '9 

Highland Rim..... 103 

Historical allusions • 25 

Horse rakes • loO 

Hornblende — Composition of 92 

Humus "^7 

Hurt, Judge W. J. — Experience of 1H6 

Hybridization of wheat ••••• 16 

Hybrids — List of, by Maund , 17 

Hydrogen •••• 3& 



IN TEJSNESSEE. 249 



Improving wheat 224 

Insects injurious to wheat 171 

Tnterestino experiments ; 14 

Iron — Aflinity for oxygen 92 

Ir^othermal line of Tennessee 12, 106 

Italian wheat 61 

J 

Jaundice in whe^t 163 

Joint worm..* 172 

K 

Knox Fandstone soil 109 

I' 

Late sowing — Effects of. ' 61 

Latitude most f;tvorable for wheat 100, 101 

Letters from farmers 128 

Light — Effects of on germination 78 

Lime 92 

effects of : , 126, 230 

Little Eed May wheat 56 

Lodging of wheat 163 

Lovelace, Mr. — Experience with peas and wheat 139 

M 

Magnesia 93 

Matlock, H. H., letter from 133 

Mediterranean Cuba 57 

Mean temperature of the tliree divisions 106 

Mica — Composition of 92 

Middle Tennessee — Mean temperature 106 

soils of 103 

McEwen, John B., letter from 131 

Midge 174 

Mildew , 166 

Moisture — Effects of 78 

Naming wheat 44, 46 

New varieties 21 



250 WHEAT CULTURE 

Nicholson, Prof. H., letter from 143 

report from._. 229 

Nitrogen 96 

Northern States compared with Tennessee 101 

Nutritiun of plants 90 



Ohio and Western States f 01 wheat 100 

Orleans wheat 60 

Oxygen 95 

P 

» 
Pasturage of wheat 141 

Peas as a renovator 146 

Peas preceding wheat 139, 149 

Pennsylvania wheat 55 

Phosphate of lime 93 

Phosphoric acid 94 

Plants— Nutrition of 90 

Plateauof tLe Highhmd Rim 103 

Plowing shallow and deep 124 

Polk, Hon. H. M., letter from 148 

Potassium 91 

Prairie sod not durable 100 

Pieparation of soil 119 

Petri, Prof., experiment 80 

Quality of wheat afifected by climate 40 

Quaker wheat 53 

Quantity of wheat raised in Tennessee 234, 117 

raised in United States '233 

Quartz — Composition 91 

R 

Rainbow wheat 51 

Red smooth head 55 

Red May 56 

Red Chaff 57 

Red bearded heads 57 

Removal of clover crop 140, 143 

Rolling and harrowing in spring 125 

Rotation of crops 101, 139 



IN TENNESSEE. 251 

Eust 168 

German method of preventing 170, 61 

Reapers 159 

Rain not favorable for wlieat 10 

Sandy soils 113 

Sanders, S. K., letter from 137 

Schedule of questions and answei's ISl 

S ientific men — Researches of 12 

Section of wheat gi-ain 72 

Seeds germinating 80 

Seeds — Selections of 24 21 

S.dection of seed 62 

Seleciing imported seed 22 

Shaker wheat 50 

Shaly soils 115 

Shallow and deep plowing 124 

Sicily claims parentage of wheat 27 

Smut 168 

Sodium 94 

Soils how made 93 

Suils of Tennessee 108 

Soil —Preparation of 119, 126 

Soil and climate on Avheat 39 

Southern wheat — Superiority of 117 

Sowing wheat — Time for 120, 132, 133, 234 

Snow regions where wheat is protected 9 

Spot and scab 156 

Spring wheals 46 

Spring bearded 60 

Spring club 61 

Stitistics of wheat 232 

Stacking wheat 165 

Stock wheat 61 

Successful wheat growers — Letters from 131 

Sulphate of lime 93 

Sulphur 94 

Sj'stem of naming 44 

T 

Talavara 61 

Tappahannock wheat 49 



252 WHEAT CULTURE 

Temperature — Table of. 11 

lowest wheat can stand 79 

higliest " " " 79 

favorable for growih 99 

Tennessee — Advantages for growing wheat 62 

average per acre 62 

as' a wheat growing State 99 

average length ot growing season 107 

production of wheat in 117, 234 

soils of 108 

wheat culture profitable in 10, 101, 118 

Terrestrial causes 162 

Testing seed wheat 81 

Theory of fertilizing wheat 74 

Tillering 88 

Time oi ripening i 8 

Time for cuiting ■ 141 

Tobacco preceding wlieat 127 

Tread well wheat 59 

Triticuni (wlieat) botanical description 14 

Tujjper — Experiments with mummy wheat 82 

IJ 

United States — Average yield of 62 

statistics of production 234 

exports of 233 

value ot wheat exports 233 

T 

Vanderford, C. K., communication from 128 

Vegetable parasites 166 

Vitality of cheat 35 

Voeicker's, Prof, experiments 139 

experiments on chafl'. 237 

Volitile parts of wlieat 75 

^^constituents 76 

W 

Weevil 173 

West Tennessee — Mean temperature 106 

wlieat culture in 242 

Wheat— Time to sow 120,133, 234 

time to cut 141 

cost of making 135, 157 



IX TENNESSEE. 253 

Wheat — Tradition? among Indians 5 

iis great antiquity Q 

largest yield of in United States 225 

limi's of successlul culture..... 7 

time of ripening 8 

■ diflerence of temperature for 9 

botanical names of 14 

ancient habitat of 19 

introduction into other countries 20 

' quality afTecied by Iccal causes 40 

classi.lcation of 43 

pasturage of ]41 

■ cost of cultivating 156 

diseases of 16 L 

dijith to sow 80 

improving of 224 

Wheat and wheat straw 73 

"Wheat cliiifi' prepared for food 237 

Wheat growing r gion in Tennessee — Best 116 

Wheat in corn ground 125 

Wheat preceded by tobanco 127 

Wheat preceded by peas 139, 149 

Wheat straw 175, 237 

Wheat seed— Testing of , 81 

Wheat land, yellow 55 

White oak mountain soil :.... 110 

Winter wheats .-. 47, 49, 53, 46 

Winter killing in the North 126 

V^ire worm 174 

Wright, Josjph, experiment of 140 

Y 

Yellow Lammas wheat •. 54 

Yellow bearded 55 



ERR^Ti^. 



Several forms of the jTcseiit work pasFed through the press during my 
unavoidable absence from Nashvilk. In consequence this it is luarred 
Ijy many tyjiogrnphical errors. The following are the principal: 

Page 13, thin! line, for dicotyekhn read dicotyledon. 

Page 15, third line, for Himuluys read Himalaya. 

Page 26, twenty-third line, for excites read excite. 

Page 28, ninth line, for oder read odor. 

Page 29, twelfth line, for (jardner rea gardener. 

Page 33, nineteenth line, for fads rend Jact; twenty-fourth line for were 
ead t'cts. 

Page 4-5, Feventeetith h're, for The explain read It in explained. 

Page •>? eiglilh line, for (hem read it; twentieth line, for has read have. 

P:!ge 40 thirty-first line, for '^ Syria which compared with" read "Syria 
compared with which." 

Vage 41 thirtienth line, for continues read continue. 

I'age 42, seventh line, for ''until he had " read '' he soon had." 

Page 44, last line but one, for minutia read minutice. 

Page 45, las line but two, for it read them. 

Page 47, twelfth line, ior statements read estimate; last line but two, for 
Ijonnd read pounds. 

I'age 50, last line but three, for Clanson read Clawson. 

Pag 3, la ,c I'.^e but five, for sprout read sport. 

Page 71, third lini, for mutter read matters; last line but four, for become 
read becomes. 

Page 73, second line under first table, for enters read enter ; second line 
under second tnbie, for is read are. 

Page 75, nir.lh line, for fne '" -.lu find ; in eleventh line, put the wor 
should between substances anr* be. 

Page 9G, last line but t.irec, for its read their. 

Page 97, thirteenth line, for is read male; last line but one, for humu 
rj id humic. 

Page 98, second line, for humis read humic 

Page 101, fifte. nth line for portion read portions, 

Pags 103, twenty-eighth line, for its read their. 



Page 105, eleventh line, for aUained read ohtamed ; thirteenth line, for is 
vead are. 

Pa'ge 105, twentj'-eighth line, for soil read oa??is. 

Page 120, t'. enty-fourih line, for was read were. 

Page 121, thirty-first line, for shows read shouK 

Page 124, second line, for freeze read freezes ; twenty -fifth line, for plowing 
read plantimj. 

Page 127, twelfth line, expunge the word or. 

Page 215, lust line but one, for crop plow read cross^phw, 

Pa<ie 217, under 17th answer for clover land not plowed read clover land not 
pastured. 

Page 219, under 34th answer read stiff siraw for stiS strand. 

Several Elinor errors appear in the appendix which the reader can easily 
correct. 



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